Hidden Light
by D-D Dreamer
Summary: Six months ago Fairy Tail disbanded and Lucy still feels grief from the outcome of everything. Then Levy sends her a note of a miraculous discovery, there is a way to defeat Zeref. Finding a new purpose, Lucy sets out for a new mission that involves another world, new allies, and possibly a love interest. But she and her friends must hurry in their quest before darkness prevails.
1. The Ancient Scroll

**This is my first attempt at writing a crossover between Fairy Tail and Inuyasha, although I am in the midst of writing two other Fairy Tail stories. This idea was inspired by the shikon no tama and I thought I can have both anime clash because of it. This story takes place after the Tartartos Arc in Fairy Tail.**

 **The first two parts will be mostly Fairy Tail and then the third one is where Inuyasha will come into play. I hope you readers like it! Reviews are appreciated but please try to be kind. I don't take flames well.**

 **Warning: The characters will be ooc and I'm rating this story _teen_ for violence and adult language.**

 **I don't own Fairy Tail or Inuyasha.**

* * *

Levy McGarden glanced down at the letter she received from her best friend, Lucy Heartfilia. They hadn't seen each other for six months because after Fairy Tail was disbanded by Master Makarov Dreyer, everyone went their separate ways. Lucy took the news harder than anyone else. She lost her partner, Natsu Dragneel, whom she considered was her other best friend. She lost her family and the place she called home. Lucy was forced to find another way to live. The other letter Levy received from her was a month prior when Lucy found a nice hut outside of Crocus and lived with doing odd jobs for money. Lucy promised her that she continued to write her novels and would share the manuscripts with her. However, Lucy refused to get them published because she wrote about her personal adventures with her friends since she began being a member of Fairy Tail. Levy put down the letter from her best friend, glad that Lucy was doing alright on her own. Natsu's one year of training was still in progress and she knew when he returned, the first person he would seek was Lucy. He would be disappointed to know Fairy Tail was disbanded since he left before hearing the unfortunate news.

"Levy, we need you to put away these books in the restricted section," a feminine voice broke Levy's thoughts. Looking up at her boss, Levy nodded at the brunette woman before pushing her chair back from her desk. A cart of books was wheeled in her direction as the woman smiled back to her. Levy stood up and put her hands on the cart. Wheeling the cart down the hall, she passed other workers like her and greeted them with a friendly smile. Everyone from the archive section knew Levy. Partly, it had to do with the Fairy Tail becoming number one in the Grand Magic Games. Fairy Tail had been in last place for seven years before their big win. Although, Levy didn't participate in the games, she was known to be the brains behind the operation with helping her teammates prepare for their upcoming battles.

Reaching the metal framed doors, magical beams appeared blocking anyone from entering. Unfortunately, Levy wasn't just an ordinary member. For the past six months working in the Magic Council, she quickly raised her ranks with a lot of hard work and determination. She deciphered a part of the library's ancient language, making it available for the workers to read. When the Magic Council had piles of information to read, she was the first one they would call on. And the amount of meetings she attended where she was known as an interpreter made her asset to the Magic Council. They didn't disappoint with the perks. She had access to the restricted area of the library and she had unlimited access to the rich information in it. A month ago while she was re-categorizing the books on the shelves to make it easier for other members to find them, she discovered a strange glyph. She copied the shape of glyph on her hand with a pen and asked her close colleagues if they noticed anything strange about the section but they replied they didn't know anything. Understanding that room hadn't been tampered with, she researched more about the glyph and found that it was a marking to open an unknown section of the library. She was astonished to discover the library hid a private room consisting of a woodened spiral staircase that was woven all the way into the center of the Magic Council's main building. Along the walls going down the spiral staircase were piles of scrolls and dust. There was barely any light, except for the one coming from the sky dome. How the Magic Council never knew about the hidden compartment left Levy shocked. They should have noticed there was a strange dome above the building; however, the building was large with many floors and compartments inside. The secret room was the reason she received a quick promotion in the Archive Department of the Magic Council.

Raising her hand, she moved toward the door and the magical beams wavered. A click was heard and the doors opened to a brightly lit room. There was a guard standing at one side. He nodded his head at the sight of Levy. She nodded her head as well and pushed the cart of books inside the large room.

"Good to see you, Levy," The guard said. "I hope you're having a good day."

"I am, thank you," Levy replied politely. "I hope you're having a good day too, Jared."

The man laughed. "I am. The day is almost over and I will be home with my family."

Levy was happy for the man. Jared worked in the Magic Council for five years and he was promoted to be the personal guard of the restricted section three months ago. He recently got married and had a new born baby. Levy couldn't blame him for having something to look forward to when he finished work. Unfortunately, Levy didn't have anyone waiting for her at home. She lived by herself and her work became her life. The only motivation she had were deciphering the scrolls. The languages were foreign to her, but she discovered if one language was interpreted, the other scrolls became easier to decipher. The languages were similar to one another, which meant that Levy was deciphering languages aging from two hundred to six hundred years ago.

"I'm glad that you will see your new baby boy," Levy said.

The guard thanked her and she began picking one book after another. She checked the sides for their serial number and placed them back on the bookshelves. Moving toward the center of the library, Levy placed the last one on the bookshelf before rolling the empty cart aside. She walked towards an ordinary bookshelf facing a huge wall. Levy removed one book from the corner of the bookshelf, making sure to see the glyph, and chanted some ancient words. Another click was heard and the books on the shelves began glowing a rich blue color. Levy smiled as she took a few steps back. The bookshelf opened to reveal an old spiral staircase. The sunlight from the dome was bright enough for Levy to walked down the stairs and see the scrolls. Searching the serial numbers she created especially for the scrolls, she stopped in the section she reached. 400AFED. The scrolls she deciphered were neatly placed in piles with sheet protectors to prevent the scrolls from disintegrating. Levy picked the next one in the other messy piles she didn't touch. Clutching it in her hand, she moved back upstairs. When she reached the only doorway leading to the secret area, she put the book back on the shelf, covering the glowing glyph. She stepped back and watched the door closed for itself. The bookshelf camouflaged with the other bookshelves so no one would have ever noticed a door.

Levy walked to another section of the library with desks and chairs. This part of the library was openly lit due to the large windows on each side. Levy stopped at her normal study area. On the desk, there were open books with different languages, her gale force reading glasses, a notebook and pens. Gently, she placed the scroll on the desk and lightly unrolled the old paper. Frowning, she saw something different on the page. The layout of words were differently placed from the ones she looked at. The handwriting wasn't as clear or neat. Whoever wrote on the scroll made some mistakes and the ink was blotchy in certain places. It was going to be harder to decipher the scroll. Some of the translation might be based on assumption. And as an interpreter, she could lose her credibility.

Shaking her head, Levy sat down and put on her gale force reading glasses. She wasn't going to think negatively. This scroll was going to be a challenge and Levy never backed down from a scholarly test. She was going to decipher the ancient words to the best of her ability. She was determined to work on it all through the evening until nightfall if she had to. And so she worked on translating the scroll's information into readable terms. However, what she found in its contents left her feeling completely perplexed.

* * *

A week had passed and the blond was surprised to see a delivery man standing on her front door step with an urgent letter. There was only one person who would send her a letter. Levy McGarden. The man pulled out a pen and a receipt. He handed them both to her so she could sign the little slip of paper. Signing her name felt strange for her. It had been a long time since she was referred to her full name. Lucy Heartfilia. In Fairy Tail, she was known just as Lucy of Fairy Tail. Her last name didn't matter. Blinking the suppressed tears, Lucy smiled at the man as he handed the envelope to her.

"Thanks madam," the man said politely. "You have a wonderful day."

Lucy waved at him. "You have a nice day too." She closed the door and locked it. She was living alone at the edge of the woods and although her new home was arranged in a peaceful setting to comfort her grieving heart, she knew there was danger still lurking in the shadow of the trees. She learned to read the atmosphere for signs of danger. She knew the different sounds around her hut and how to tell time from the position of the sun. Her goat man spirit, Capricorn, trained her every morning in meditation. Meditation not only helped control her magical energy, but she was able to strain her five senses to scan the environment and she was able to read magical auras.

As she made her way to the table located in her kitchen, she grabbed the kitchen knife on top of her counter and sliced open the envelope. She briefly flipped the letter, thinking it was strange for Levy to rush deliver a particular letter unless Levy had something important to share with her. Sliding the paper out of the envelope, she unfolded the paper to read Levy's neat handwriting.

 _Lucy,_

 _I found an interesting document for you to read. Meet me at the Magic Council Headquarter as soon as possible. I will be waiting for you. Also, burn this letter the moment you receive it. I don't want anyone tracing it to you._

 _Your friend,_

 _Levy McGarden_

She crumpled the letter in one hand while she was reaching for the stove with her other hand. Turning the knob on the stove, the fire lit to life and she burned one corner of the paper before tossing it in the sink. Lucy watched as the flames ate the paper until black ashes were left. She turned on the facet to wash away the remnants while she repeated the process with burning the envelope. Lucy took off the stove and the running water. She walked into her room and pulled out her traveling bag from the closet. Reaching for her keys on the dresser, she summoned for her maid spirit, Virgo. With a flash of golden light, her spirit appeared before her, dressed in a maid uniform and chains dangling from her wrists. She bowed before Lucy in respect. "Punishment princess?" she asked in her usual greeting.

Lucy sighed, bothering not to reprimand her spirit. It was part of Virgo's personality and she would never change it. She had other spirits with different personalities and she loved them for it. They were her only true family she had left and the exception of Levy. Everyone else left her. Her mother was the first one to die when she was a child. Her father was the second one to permanently depart from the world after she awoke from a seven year sleep. Then, the events after Tartartos Arc shattered her. She lost one of her closest spirit, Aquarious. Natsu and Happy left without telling her in person that they were going to train for one year. And Fairy Tail was disbanded. Everyone went their own way. The only person she had a heart to converse with was Levy. Both females were walking in the same shoes. They both lived alone, worked hard to earn a living, were abandoned by the people close to them, and they were heartbroken. Lucy knew that Levy grieved when Gajeel left Fairy Tail. He didn't leave her an address or ways to contact him using a communication lacrima. And Team Shadow Gear broke apart. The letters she received from Levy sounded positive, but Lucy noticed the tear stains or the way the edges of the papers were crumbled. Levy was trying hard to be strong, but she didn't need to be strong for her. All Lucy needed was support.

"Can you help me pack clothes for a couple of days? I will be visiting Levy," Lucy told her loyal spirit.

"Yes, princess," the maid replied, realizing her mistress wasn't going to apply for the job on the bulletin board in the city now the plans changed for today.

"Thanks." Lucy smiled. She opened her drawers while Virgo searched and picked the necessary contents she would be needing for a short trip. Once Virgo completed with packing her stuff, another flash of light appeared in her room. Lucy had to shield her eyes before Loke's face popped into her line of vision. Screeching, Lucy jumped back while Virgo bowed and greeted him. Loke was another one of Lucy's spirit who could pop into her life any time he wanted. He was the leader of the twelve zodiacs. If Lucy still had Aquarius, the mermaid would out number him with strength and power but without her, Loke was definitely her strongest one. He was also a spirit she had become closer to because he comforted her when she was sad the first three months of losing so much.

"Hello, older brother," Virgo greeted Loke.

"Hi. It's been a long time since we last talked with each other," said Loke while he saluted her before turning his attention to Lucy. "I'm sorry, princess. I didn't mean to startle you."

Lucy placed a hand over her heart to calm her beating her heart. "You would think I'll get use to you giving me a heart attack by now," she joked. She smiled shakily before removing a trembling hand over her heart.

Loke eyes narrowed on her shakiness and eyed the room warily. He noticed a navy blue duffle bag at her feet. He turned his attention to Virgo. "Is our princess going somewhere?"

"Yes, older brother," the maid replied. "She is staying with Levy for a couple of days."

Loke frowned. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or concerned with his mistress's decision. She was finally leaving home other than to do grocery shopping, training or doing a job. "Why?"

"I don't know the exact details." Both spirits turned to Lucy to hear her explanation. Lucy sighed again. Apparently, their parental manners were taking over and Lucy realized she was going to have to explain her actions to them.

Sitting down on the bed, Lucy inhaled a deep breath. Loke knelt on his knees and he gently clasped his larger hands over her hands. "Lucy, everything is going to be alright."

She exhaled an exasperated breath. "It's not what you think. I don't know all the details myself. Levy sent an urgent mail for me to meet her as soon as possible."

"Where?" Loke straightened his posture. Virgo also looked alert.

"I need to meet her at her workplace?"

"And you're leaving now? You won't make there until a couple days from now," Loke protested. "I'm against you traveling in the night."

"I agree with you too, older brother."

Lucy closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "I have no choice."

"Fine," Loke said. His tone became serious. "Virgo, store Lucy's duffel bag in the celestial world."

Virgo nodded her head and swept the duffel bag from the floor. She bowed before the both of them and vanished.

"I'm going to accompany you, Lucy," he demanded.

Lucy agreed with him. Partially, she didn't have the energy to argue him and she was tired of being alone. She hated to admit to him how his constant presence in her life became her stability. Once upon a time, he was a member of Fairy Tail. When she found out he was a celestial spirit on the verge of disappearing for good, she risked her life to save him. She did the impossible by getting him reinstated into the celestial world and reestablishing his key. Ever since then, he became one of the few people she trusted with her life. And Natsu's sudden disappearance in her life forced Loke to be a part of her life.

She shook her head and began to shakily laugh all while tears sprung from her eyes. She covered her eyes as the memories of a pink haired dragon slayer, an annoying blue flying cat, a scarlet haired woman wearing armor, and a shirtless raven haired guy were smiling at each other and how all of them traveled together to do missions.

A sob broke out her throat and strong and warm arms embraced her sad form. She rubbed her face against the silky shirt of her lion spirit as more broken sobs erupted from her throat. Who was she was kidding? She felt as if Fairy Tail abandoned her. Yet the only two members she communicated with were members from Fairy Tail. The irony of the situation.

Loke let her cry on his shoulder while he soothingly rubbed her back and whispered words of comfort in her ear. When she stopped, Lucy pulled away from his arms and smiled a little as not to worry him. He stood up when she got up and he stepped aside as she made her way to the bathroom to clean herself up.

She returned with a cleaner face, although he could still see signs of redness under her eyes. Loke wanted to curse Natsu for abandoning Lucy. He left her with a frail mindset. When Lucy showed signs of moving on, something always happened to remind her about her past. And Loke wondered if there ever would be a time that she could truly smile again.

The only thing he could do was pick the pieces of her shattered heart and hope with time she would heal. Until then, Loke vowed he would remain at her side. And spirits never took their vow lightly.

* * *

A couple of days later Loke and Lucy were standing in front of the Magic Council Headquarters located in Era. Lucy recalled Levy telling her how the building was damaged but amazingly the building was rebuilt to its former glory. There were some sections of the building that remained untouched during the dark incidents and some highly skilled wizards and strong construction workers put the building back together. It was a sight to behold, the building was built in the finest polishing of white stone. The glasses were big, elegantly designed for architectural pleasure. The whiteness clashed with pale blue windows. Lucy and Loke passed the gates and walked into the entrance. However, they were stopped by security. Loke was about to show them his fists when Lucy raised her hand in front of him. The two security officers had their hands on their guns.

"Do you have passes?" one security guard asked them.

"No," Lucy answered.

"Are you on the list?" Another guard asked her.

"I don't know," she replied.

"What are your names?" asked the first one.

"My name is Lucy Heartfilia." Saying her name sounded strange since it was a long time since she called herself that. "I believe you won't have my companion's name on the list."

"Why is that, I wonder?" the second guard asked. He eyed both Loke and Lucy suspiciously. They hoisted their weapons in their hands and Loke began cracking his knuckles.

Lucy raised her hand higher and partially turned her head in his direction. "No need to make it worse, Loke." Then turning her full attention on the guards, she stared at them with impassive eyes. "This man is my celestial spirit."

Both men dropped their weapons on the ground. The clattering noise caused Lucy to flinch as they surprisingly looked between her and Loke. "Am I missing something?"

"It's... just... that we haven't seen a celestial wizard for awhile," one guard responded.

The other guard removed a paper folded neatly in his pouch. He opened it to scan the list of names until his eyes widened. "I deeply apologize for our hostile behavior, Ms. Heartfilia."

Both guards bowed apologetically before Lucy and Loke. "We don't receive many visitors from the outside and we have to be alert because of the attacks that happened in the past."

Lucy nodded her head, easily forgiving them. The security guards were only doing their job. As long as she and Loke didn't end up in prison, she was contented. The guards let her pass and she and Loke made their way into the building. The moment they reached the lobby, a blue haired girl was waiting for them. She waved at them and dashed to hug Lucy. Both females broke out in tears and hugged each other desperately. People stopped walking in the lobby to watch both friends and then shook their heads as both girls broke apart and were laughing at each other's behavior. Loke shook his head too. Lucy looked in his direction and he saw from her expression that she was going to be alright. He dismissed himself by returning into the celestial world.

"How long has it been since we last saw each other?" Levy questioned Lucy as she scanned Lucy from head to toe.

Lucy scratched the back of her head in nervousness. "Six months, I think."

"You look good," Levy said with conviction. Besides the crumpled clothes and the bags under the blond's eyes, Levy knew that her best friend was recuperating from the guild's disbandment. At least someone was coping better than her.

"You look good too," Lucy exchanged.

"Not as good as you," Levy swatted Lucy's shoulder. "I live here most of the time."

"Well, if you do, then you're doing an excellent job with taking care of yourself."

"Thanks. Now how about we head to my place," Levy said. She grabbed her friend's hand and Lucy followed her to the main doors.

"But didn't you want me to meet you here?" Lucy tried to protest as the little blue haired woman was dragging her to the doors. The past six months made Levy physically stronger because Lucy didn't remember having to struggle to break from friend's grip.

"This was the meeting place because I know how you get lost easily."

"Oh."

"Besides, I have everything for you to see at my apartment."

"Okay." Lucy let her friend lead the way. She waved her hand at both security guards and they waved cheerfully at her. Their eyes bulged when they saw how Levy was holding her hand.

"Did you see that?" One guard questioned.

"Yeah. When was the last time Ms. McGarden had a visitor?" the other one asked.

"Never."

Levy's laughter broke their gossip and Lucy couldn't help but be grateful for the distraction. Apparently, she was happy to see a best friend. Lucy bowed her head until her long blond locks partially covered her face. She hid a small smile.

"Don't mind them. They're really good guys. They just never seen someone visit me," Levy replied.

They walked around in the city, passing crowds of people, and moving through main streets with well known named stores. If Levy wasn't holding her hand, Lucy would have lost herself amongst so many people. Unintentionally, memories of Natsu and Happy flashed through her mind. They went everywhere together and it was hard for her to get lost because Natsu was either beside her or behind her. Blinking away the tears, Lucy wiped the excess moisture before her blue haired friend noticed her sudden sadness. When they reached a small building at the end of a street, did Levy stop walking. Lucy almost bumped into her, but the her training habits with Capricorn made her stop. Her reflexes were faster than before because Capricorn made her train with dodging incoming blows in a fight.

Glancing up at the building, she saw how the building was the smallest one compared to the other buildings on the street. The road ended in front of it. There weren't many people around. Levy reached into her pocket and pulled out a key. She unlocked the main door building before going up the stairs into a narrow hall. Lucy followed after her. The inside of the building was smaller than the outside of the structure, however, it fit into Levy's taste of dormitory style. Since Levy's first meeting, Lucy had the feeling that Levy was a simple person. Levy needed one room with the basic necessities and bookshelves of books and she would be the happiest person on earth. When Levy reached the second floor, she stopped at the first door in the right corner and opened it with another key. She kicked the door open and Lucy saw a studio. Levy stepped aside and gestured for her to enter the room. As she walked through a narrow hallway to what she assumed was the living room, she saw a two-seater couch, a 30-inch television on a table and two bookshelves stacked with books. On the other side of the room had cabinets, a long counter top, an old fashion stove and a small refrigerator. There were two doors. One was next to the one of bookshelves and the other was next to the cabinets. One of the doors led to the bathroom and the other one had to be a closet of some sort.

Levy closed the door behind Lucy, causing her to jump but Levy didn't notice. "Sorry about the size of the apartment. It was the only one I could afford at the time when I found a job at the Magic Council Headquarter," Levy apologized. "I could look for a bigger place but this one suits my needs." Lucy didn't think her best friend needed to explain herself. In fact the small studio did fit to Levy's tastes. However, one question was already answered about Levy keeping in contact with anyone else from the old guild. From the small state of room to the security guards' reactions of Levy having a visitor, Lucy could safely assume that Gajeel didn't meet with Levy.

"It's okay. My place in Crocus is a very cramped but I love it," Lucy said, trying to comfort her friend.

"Thanks." Her best friend beamed and she couldn't help but return her smile. Levy gestured to the couch. "Make yourself at home. I'm going to make tea and bring my notebook for you look over an important document."

The blond woman nodded her head and moved toward the couch. Sitting down on the couch, Lucy scanned a few books on Levy's bookshelves to see they were either about different languages or magic types. One book struck to her particular interest. _Celestial Magic or Light Magic_. Lucy got up from her seat and reached for the hardback. The moment it was in her hands, she noticed it was a thick one with yellowing pages. Selecting a random page, Lucy read the contents.

 _There has been a question to how celestial magic came into existence. Not much is known about it, except that celestial deals with the stars in the sky also known as heaven. For a long time folk legends have derived the stories of the gods, important people and the horoscopes to dwell within the starry night. The stars in each constellation represents the magical life force celestial beings get their source. Celestial wizards have been granted with a rare type of power to summon these unearthly beings onto earth. Due to the fact that celestial world holds spiritual beings, celestial magic is also known as light magic._

Lucy heard a clink behind her and she closed the book. Putting it back on the shelf, Levy saw the book she had and made a comment about it. "It's funny you were reading the book. I borrowed it from the library in the Magic Council to learn more about celestial magic. Before I explain myself further, maybe you should take a seat." Levy gestured to the couch and Lucy took her up on her offer. Once the blond woman was seated, Levy pointed that her tea was on top the television since there was no other object for her to put it on. Lucy nodded her head in understanding and waited for her friend to continue. Levy dashed to the kitchen counter and grabbed her black notebook. She flipped the pages until she found what she was looking for.

"Recently, I discovered a scroll that lay hidden in the depths of the Magic Council library. The language was dated to be from four hundred years ago. In the text, the writer explains about celestial magic and owning a stone with immense powers that it could rival the power of darkness or even destroy it. The stone is called The Celestial Stone or The Stone of Light."

The fact that Levy discovered a scroll about celestial magic peaked the blond woman's interest since she dealt with celestial magic. Although she was quite educated in the type of magic, information written four hundred years ago was interesting since there were theories as to how celestial magic originated. No one knew the truth about it. The celestial stone was a different matter because Lucy never heard about it.

Levy paused in her explanation. The blond woman watched her inhaled a deep breath before letting it go. "The thing is, this document was written by someone who claimed to be a celestial spirit and Zeref's name was mentioned in it."

Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief and Levy shoved her notebook to the blond. "That's the best translation I could do. I think it's better if you read the rest of it. Then you'll understand why I called you here."

Dumbly, Lucy nodded her head and brought the notebook to her face. She began reading the words.

 _Stars are born and so they can die as life does on earth. Each cluster of stars represent a constellation that retells significant stories passed down through human generations. For each new story, new stars are born to represent a new constellation. And this is how my story begins. My name is Lyerah and I am the thirteenth spirit of the golden keys._

Lucy stopped reading and took a deep breath into her lungs. She glanced at the bluenette sitting next to her. Her dark eyes were wide with empathy because Lucy was reading information that was beyond her imagination. Returning her attention to the notebook, she read where she left off.

 _My constellation lies next to Orion's Belt, the hunter. As being the number thirteen, I have the misfortune of being the odd spirit among the other spirits. For one, no one has discovered my key and I never experienced having a master or mistress to serve. And two, my powers derive from a stone of light or also known as the celestial stone. It is equipped with my life force and magic. With it, I can conjure holy magic to defeat demons, cancel the effects of dark magic and I can heal wounds inflicted by darkness. My magic is one of a kind, considering no other spirit, besides the Celestial King, can do my type of magic. This is why I am considered to be the strongest spirit and the leader out of the thirteen zodiacs. My magic can rival that of Zeref and he is considered to be the biggest darkness for the celestial world. He is the reason I am alive and I am dead._

Lucy paused reading and gave Levy a questioning look. Her eyebrows rose as Levy motioned for her to finish read the translation. Glancing down on the document again, she read the contents.

 _At a time when the world is raging in war between the dragons and humans, Zeref is doomed with immortality. He tampers with dark magic and has discovered a way to bring demons into the world, which forces celestial spirits to become involved in the war. Spirits are the only ones who can come close to him unlike humans who die being in close range to him. Celestial spirits contain light magic which can oppose demons and the Celestial King believes the stone I possess is the key to turn the war in our favor. However, my fatal mistake is meeting him. Zeref. I realize that he is not evil as people believe him to be. He is sad, lonely and is forced to live with killing anyone because he cannot control his magic. Our discussions draws me closer to him. I want to be with him, I long to see him and hold him. I am in love with the enemy. I cannot kill him and for this reason I am banished from the celestial world. My stone with my power has been taken by the king. He has destroyed it and as I have been wandering the world for two years, I feel my powers are diminishing. My constellation of stars is dying. I will disappear and be forgotten and I will remain unaware of what happened to Zeref. I worry he will be forced to wander the world killing people. He will live with the guilt and eventually will forget the feeling of love and happiness. Please, I ask you to save him, to stop him. You are the only one who can finish what I failed at._

Turning the page, Lucy completed reading it.

 _There is another stone of light; however; it cannot be found in this world. If you are a celestial wizard, you will have the ability to open worlds. Look for a place called Edo. The stone lies in wait for centuries and it is the only one left that can equally oppose Zeref's dark magic. Please, bring his eternal suffering to an end. Return him to me._

Lucy's vision turned blurry at the haunting quality from the last lines. Someone fell in love with Zeref and it was a forgotten celestial spirit. She covered her face with one hand and she recalled what would have happen to Loke if she let him disappear from the world.

"Oh Lu," Levy called her nickname. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

Lucy shook her head. "It's not your fault. I just feel like I can relate to this spirit's feelings. She lost so much and yet her concern is for him."

"Zeref?"

Lucy nodded her head. Her tears wouldn't stop falling and a sob broke from her throat. She felt her best friend wrapped arms around her frame and whispered comforting words. It was natural Lucy cried easily. Sadness haunted her the past few months but Lyerah's emotions were difficult to comprehend. She lost her family, home, her magic and loved one. Yet her last words were asking someone to help her loved one. She didn't think of herself as anything else but a failure. And it was four hundred years later when the document was found.

But Lyerah's last words was the hope everyone from Fairy Tail was waiting for before they departed from it and Levy found it by chance. Furthermore, Levy knew a celestial mage who could find the stone, the key to ending Zeref's malice. Lucy couldn't help but think that different destinies were being intertwined somehow and her role was going to become a major one instead of remain as a minor one.


	2. Lucy's Determination

**Hi everyone. I am going on a long vacation and won't be able to update for awhile and so I am posting this new chapter. But don't worry. This story is a special one because it's a writer's challenge for camp Nanowrimo, which means I'll be writing this story through thick and thin.**

 **And thank you, readers for reviewing, following and adding this fanfiction to your favorites.**

 **Enjoy! Until next time.**

* * *

It was six months since the Tartartos incident. Fairy Tail disappeared from Magnolia and from the world map. However, the dark mage would never forget the events that took place. He got his hands on the E.N.D. book but disappointment struck deeply as a knife piercing his throat. The pink haired dragon slayer named Natsu Dragneel still didn't have the power to kill him. Maybe he was over thinking his plot to have his little brother kill him. Who would be the person to end his bleak existence?

He completed making an E.N.D. demon who resembled his brother. Etherious Natsu Dragneel. Although, the demon was another version of Natsu, it was a darker side. Zeref was able to attain a piece of his younger brother's soul by striking him with his dark magic during their encounter in the Tartaros' invasion. It was a new ability he learned, to take a person spiritual essence and manipulate it to how he saw fit. His little brother was a rare exception to surviving bursts of his dark magical waves. The demon he created, E.N.D., had the same wild pink hair with sharp black eyes, a playful grin and a muscled body. They dressed similarly, wearing dark clothes and wooden slippers. But their resemblance ended there. The demon lusted for blood, loved to play with his prey before going in for the final kill, and there was the sinfulness behind his grins. He was unpredictable whereas Zeref could read Natsu like an open book. Zeref planned for E.N.D. to watch over his little brother while he devised a way to awake more demons from their slumber to play with each ex-Fairy Tail member. As an initiative, he wanted to strike the people who were close to Natsu's heart. If they died, maybe Natsu would find the resolve to kill him. Closing his eyes and sitting back against his throne, he recalled Natsu spending most of his time with three humans and a little blue cat. There was a dark haired ice mage who was annoying, a scarlet haired woman with a problem of being honorable and a blond haired girl who was cowardly. When he encountered their fights, he noticed how quick the red head, the black head and Natsu were ready to fight. The blond girl stayed back with the blue flying cat, observing each fight and sometimes supported them from the sidelines. However, Natsu was swift on his feet to protect her. In fact, his strength and magic increased when she was in danger. Her name was the first one he called from his lips. What was her name, again? Lily. Lacy. Lucky. No. Lucy. That was it! Her name was Lucy.

Zeref opened his eyes. The blond girl was always following his brother. She fought alongside him. But she wasn't completely useless. He'd seen the strange pull his little brother had towards her. She stopped him from fighting nonsensical battles, he listened to her opinions, he had her plan strategies for fighting opponents or figuring out puzzles. Also, she was resourceful. She possessed more than one type of element she could control. Of course, she was a celestial mage and he had to admit he hadn't come across one with her caliber. At first appearance, she was weak. He could kill her with a swat of his hand. Eventually, she began to surprise him. She was able to save a celestial spirit's life and reestablish his key. She summoned ten spirits to close the Eclipse Gate during the Grand Magic Games, foiling his plan. And she summoned three spirits to fight against three of his demons, thus, leading her to finally summon the Celestial King to break Agrelia so her friends could fight the other demons. He underestimated her abilities and her magic. She controlled light magic being one of the few celestial mages left. She could pose a great threat to him if she possessed the stone of light.

Zeref sighed as he closed his eyes. A young woman with long golden hair and a white dress flashed in his mind. He pinched the bridge of his nose before shaking his head to rid memories of her. She was long gone, deceased and he was left alone once again.

Lyerah. It was funny how her name resembled the blond girl who followed his little brother. It was as almost as if history was mocking him.

Raising a hand to his forehead, he rubbed his temple. Instantly, his body stiffened as he felt another presence in the great hall. Removing his hand from his head, he gazed at the demon who dared to interrupt him. The pink haired demon with horns, dressed in dark clothing perched on a pile of rubble not far away from the throne. A smirk was plastered on his face.

"What news do you bring?" Zeref questioned the demon who looked liked his little brother but the horns was a dead giveaway of not being the true Natsu.

"The little brat reached halfway in his training," E.N.D. said with a deeper baritone than Natsu. His voice was rougher and darker but his face remained with the same expressions of Natsu.

"And did you find anything interesting with his training progress?"

"No," the demon stopped smirking and pouted instead. "He's so boring, fighting big monsters and eating them for food. The other wizard he met in the forest was more interesting than him."

Zeref chuckled at the demon's pout. "If you find my little brother is so boring, maybe I can find something that peaks your interest."

"Really?!" The demon's head raised with excitement.

"Yes. As you know, the useless guild, Fairy Tail, was dispersed and the members scattered. I want you to look for three members he traveled with."

The demon tilted his head as he appeared to be in deep thought. "I will love to but I won't be able to recognize them."

"That's okay. I have a little something to help you." Zeref brought both hands before his face, concealing his view of E.N.D. Shutting his eyes, he covered his face until his finger nails scratched his scalp. Increasing his magical energy, he recalled images of three mages Natsu travelled with; however, the girl with golden hair was clearer than the other mages. He saw her bright smile and wide expressive brown eyes. Shaking his head, he pushed the picture of her to one side and conjured pictures of the requip mage and ice mage. Removing his hands from his face, a ball of black magic hovered in the air, sizzling with black lightening. He opened his eyes and saw the demon watched him with shocked eyes. Getting up from his seat, he kept the black ball steady in both of his hands. He slowly made his way to the demon who unconsciously backed up. He raised his brows in question at the demon's sudden retreat and lowered his magic ball.

"Didn't you want to know how my little brother's companions look like?"

The demon gulped and Zeref stopped moving. "I could get rid of this and leave you to rely on your senses to find them. But it will be harder to locate them since his scent on them disappeared."

"What about the blondie?"

"He never claim her as his."

"Very interesting." The demon smirked as he stood to his full height. He walked toward Zeref, his dark eyes gleamed with deadly intent.

Zeref frowned at E.N.D. "What are you planning in that vile mind of yours?"

"Ways to play with his toys. He shouldn't have left them unguarded."

"Now, don't do anything rash. I want him to know who delivered his despair."

"He will know. I will leave him a little souvenir." The demon licked his lips in anticipation.

Without warning, Zeref pushed the ball of black magic into the demon's chest. E.N.D. howled with anguish while falling to his knees. He doubled in pain as he gasped for breath. His claws dug into the ground as Zeref stepped back. Turning his back, he delivered his blow of dark magic on the demon containing his memories of Natsu's precious companions. However, Zeref was confused by his reaction. The moment the demon licked his lips after mentioning about leaving a little souvenir for Natsu to find, Zeref vehemently pushed his magic into the demon's chest. Somehow, he was uneasy with the demon messing with the golden haired mage.

A drumming beat began to pound in his head and he raised a hand to rub it. He had to get over it; the golden haired girl was the easiest target for E.N.D. and he couldn't blame the demon for wanting to play with her before killing her. She would be the one to strengthen Natsu's resolve to slay him.

* * *

The next day, Levy decided to call in sick to the Magic Council so she could spend the day with Lucy. Both girls stayed up most of the night chatting with what was going on in their lives. Levy's life was boring since it was all about work and no play. When Lucy pushed to know more information about the sensitive topic, her relationship with Gajeel, Levy almost flipped her lid. After a round of shedding waterworks, Levy explained that Gajeel and her simply parted ways. He wanted to join another guild to make use of his fighting expertise and she wanted to join a library where she could have unlimited access to information. She hadn't heard from him since the disbanding of Fairy Tail and most likely he didn't have a clue she was working for the Magic Council.

Levy asked Lucy about her lifestyle but the golden haired girl replied nothing special was going in her life. She trained in the morning with her spirit, Capricorn. Then, she picked different types of jobs on the bulletin board in the capital to make money since any mage was welcome to choose them. However, the work wasn't well paid like the jobs in the official magical guilds. When the bluenette questioned Lucy about not joining in another guild, Lucy respond that Fairy Tail was the only place she felt at home. No other place would make her feel that way.

"Well maybe you should stop living in the past," Levy suggested while shrugging her shoulders. "I know I'm not any better myself but I feel like translating ancient languages from the past and using the information to understand history keeps me busy and happy."

"But are you really happy?" Lucy questioned her. Sitting up from the floor, she eyed her friend laying flat on her stomach, her blue head rested on the pillow while her slender legs swung back and forth in the air.

Levy was quiet for a moment before shrugging her shoulders again. "Like I said, I am always busy and that makes me happy. I don't ponder on sad thoughts and I have something to look forward to the next day."

"Well, I can't say anything then." Lucy laid back down on her stomach and rested her head on a soft white pillow. "At least you have your mind made up."

"That's it!" Levy exclaimed. The petite girl sat on her knees causing Lucy to raise her eyebrows at her. "Maybe if we can find something productive to do with your time, you won't have be preoccupied with thinking about the past. You will finally be able to move on."

"Like doing what?"

"What about if do we more research about the stone of light. And we need to find a way to get to Edo," Levy suggested while wagging her eyebrows and elbowing Lucy's side.

The blond girl started laughing, grateful to have someone who could make her feel better, if only for a brief time. "The idea sounds intriguing, but I'm not sure if I'm cut out for the job."

"Oh come on, girl! Where's you sense of adventure? If other people can take time off to go on their own adventure, so can you," her best friend encouraged.

Lucy knew that Levy was referring to Natsu and Happy taking a year off to train. They went on their own adventure, leaving her out of the picture. Levy was trying to encourage her to do the same thing. Lucy put a hand to her chin and pretended to be deep in thought as she gazed at the wooden floor. "Hmm... I think you have a point."

"Besides, whoever knew there was a celestial spirit by the name of Lyerah and she was the thirteenth golden key? That's a major deal for celestial history!"

"I know! I should summon grandfather Crux and ask him about her."

"Then, there is a great chance the stone of light will be the key to destroying Zeref and only you can find the stone if it's in another world."

"Again, you have a point."

"Then let's start by having you summon your grandfather Crux," Levy said. She clapped her hands as she jumped to her feet.

Lucy sighed, not really excited about the prospect of traveling on a mission. She was accustomed to doing short and simple ones, which gave her enough money to live on. The idea of going on a dangerous mission by herself was unappealing. "Hold on, maybe we're moving too fast."

"What do you mean?" Levy questioned, completely confused by Lucy's lack of interest of all of a sudden.

"Fairy Tail no longer exists. So what do we get for trying to receive the stone?"

"We save the world from Zeref's darkness," Levy automatically replied.

"Yes, but it's dangerous." The blue headed girl was about to interrupt but Lucy raised her hand in gesture to stop her friend from speaking. "Let's say we have the celestial stone in our possession, how can defend ourselves from Zeref if he discovers we have it?"

Levy slightly shook her head, while her blue locks bounced with the movement. "I see your point. We'll have to tell the others."

"No!" Lucy quickly protested. "I don't want to see any of them."

"But Lucy, we can't do it alone. We will need extra help."

"Like I said, I won't depend on them for help." Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. "They didn't stop Master Makarov when he decided to disband Fairy Tail. They talk about how families stick together, but they went against their own beliefs!"

"Lucy." Levy tried to comfort her friend.

"No! I have a lot to say and I kept it buried deep inside me for six whole months! We've been through so much! Firstly, we had fought and endured incidents like lullaby, Guanto Island, the Tower of Heaven, Phathom Lord, the battle of Fairy Tail, Edolas, Tenrou Island, the Grand Magic Games, the Eclipse Gate and Tartaros. Everything was about us being a family and accepting everyone for who they are and then Fairy Tail breaks apart." Lucy covered her face while her best friend hugged her. "I even sacrificed my beloved and strongest spirit to save everyone. I feel like that sacrifice went in vain."

"Don't say that," Levy whispered as she brushed Lucy's blond hair away from her wet face. "You saved me from dying. If it weren't for you, we won't be here today." Levy was one of the two people who knew about Lucy sacrificing her spirit to summon the strongest celestial spirit from the celestial world, the Celestial King. Master Makarov was the other person.

"I know," Lucy said. "I don't want to lose you too. You're the only person I trust and the only one who I can call a sister." Levy was truly honored to have Lucy consider her as a sister because she knew that Lucy was the type of person who would break down mountains and cross the oceans to save her family. Lucy was devoted to the people who were close to her. She considered her celestial spirits as family. There was an incident that Levy overheard Natsu saying to Romeo about how Lucy almost died for her spirits while fighting Angel from Oracion Seis.

"I'm always here whenever you need me."

"Thanks," Lucy pulled back from her friend's embrace. "I think we can handle this mission on our own. If you think about it, you're the person with the beautiful brains and I have the magic to open the gates to different world. Also, you have access to a library with tons of information. If we keep this information as secretive as possible, our lives won't be in danger. Besides, once I open a gate to Edo, Zeref can't follow after us."

Levy smiled at the blond's enthusiasm, since the aura of sadness faded. Apparently, her friend thought they were going to do the mission together. However, she didn't want to confess that Lucy would have to go on the mission alone to find the stone of light because someone had to stay back to complete deciphering the scrolls. There might be a good chance that Levy missed something or would come across additional information in another scroll to help with Lucy's journey. For now, she was going to play along about both of them embarking on a journey so she could see Lucy's cheerful smiles.

* * *

The next day Levy walked into the Magic Council Headquarters, she saw a bunch of messages on her desk asking for her presence in the Magic Council room. Usually, this meant that one of the council members wanted her to interpret a language from a document or they needed her to converse with someone else who spoke another language. However, something felt out of place. Cautiously, Levy picked up the bunch of notes and skimmed through the different tasks she was assigned. But there was one note in particular that proved something was suspicious. Pulling the note aside, she crumpled the little paper and shoved it into her pocket. She glanced around her to see if anyone else noticed her action because she worked in an open area. Her desk was located across Tim's desk and he was an employee who loved to know people's business. And with the mention of Tim, Levy saw him heading her way, with a big grin plastered on his face. His spectacles shined brightly from the sunlight streaming through large windows while he adjusted them before stopping in front of her. Levy put a hand behind her back and crossed her fingers. She hoped that he wouldn't ask her some ridiculous questions about why she didn't come into work yesterday. Knowing Tim, he didn't believe her being sick.

"So I heard you had a visitor here two days ago," Tim said with his grin turning into a one sided smirk. "I heard she's a pretty blond and she's a celestial mage. "

"So?" Levy annoyingly questioned him.

"You could introduce her to all of us instead of keeping her to yourself," he replied. He crossed his thin arms over his lean chest. "Or are you hiding a secret from us?" When he mentioned "us" he meant the employees at the Magic Council.

Levy's face flushed, making it apparent that she felt guilty for keeping Lucy away from the Magic Council Headquarter. Then, she shook her head. "What makes you think I have something to hide?"

Tim shook his head while making a cluck sound with his tongue. "You worked here for six months and not one day the past since you had a visitor. And then one day, one shows up out of the blue and she's not some random person. She's the famous celestial mage who closed the Eclipse Gate with the lovely Yukino Agria."

Tim was referring to a time when Fairy Tail participated in the Grand Magic Games to regain it's high ranking reputation as a magical guild and the Fairy Tail members were preparing for a malicious attack from Zeref. The attack came from the Eclipse Gate; the princess of Crocus was planning on using the gate to go back in time and kill Zeref. Instead the plan back fired and dragons entered through the gate and destroyed some parts of Crocus. Lucy and Yukino combined their powers together to close the gate. But Lucy became famous because she was discovered for holding ten out of the twelve zodiac keys, which was considered quite rare for a celestial mage, and the fact she summoned ten of them was a feat no other celestial mage was capable of doing in history. Besides, the Magic Council members held her in high regard because Lucy risked her life to save the capital that unfairly apprehended her, threw her and jail and almost killed her. Anyone else in her situation would have turned their backs on Crocus and let the dragons burn everything.

"Well, she decided to pay me a surprise visit," Levy said, trying to sound convincing but she was a bad liar.

"And a surprise it was," he said. He uncrossed his arms. Using a pointer finger, he lifted the metal in between his frames to keep his glasses on his face. "Next time, you should have her visit us. I know a lot of people who will like to meet her."

Levy laughed awkwardly as she rubbed a hand on her head, ruffling her already wavy blue hair. "I don't think she will have time to visit again. She's a very busy person."

Using the same pointer, Tim put it on his lips. He paused before Levy saw a twinkling in his eyes. "How about I invite a bunch of my friends over to your place and we meet her?"

She violently shook her head. "I don't think that will be appreciated!"

"So she's staying at your place?"

'Dang it!' Levy thought. 'He got me good.'

"So, she's really staying at your place." He grinned widely, showing crooked teeth.

"No!" Levy protested while panicking. "She's staying elsewhere!"

"I highly doubt that," he replied. He began laughing. "That explains why you took a sick day. You couldn't leave her alone."

"Huh?"

"I didn't know you go that way." A smirk plastered on his thin lips.

It took a moment for Levy to realize what he was referring to and her cheeks reddened to rival a tomato. "No!"

"Certainly that explains your strange behavior." He lifted his fingers in the air as he began to count each fact on her personal life. "You don't have visitors. You turn down every man who asked you on a date. You go home very late as if you're trying to avoid the office. You are extremely friendly with the girls and you hide your visitor from us."

Levy waved arms in the air while shaking her head and spurting protests. However, her face reddened to the point that Tim started to laugh. "Don't worry," he said with mirth twinkling in his eyes, " I will keep this our little secret." He turned his back on her and waved his hand. Levy opened her mouth in shock, wondering what just happened until a cough caused her to whirl around. Standing in front of her was none of then the chairman of the Magic Council, Hyberion. He was a tall and well fit man who appeared to be in his late thirties. His black hair was neatly combed back, his moustache groomed. He had pointy ears and a tattoo on his forehead. He wore a buttoned white shirt, partially covered with a black cape. Also, he wore black expensive pants and well polished black shoes. He was a serious man but there was a gentlemanly aura about him. A smile cracked his usually stoic face as he saw Levy's back straightened and her eyes widened with surprise. However, she still sported flaming red cheeks and he couldn't help but smile at her reactions.

And Levy couldn't help but wonder if the chairman heard what Tim assumed she was. If he did, she didn't how she could face him. Moaning in shame, Levy covered her face with one hand while she raised her other hand to warn the chairman away.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Hyberion asked while raising an eyebrow.

Levy peeked at him through her fingers and when she saw his raised eyebrow, she made another inappropriate sound before turning her back on him. When she felt like she had complete control over herself, she turned to face him. With a shaky smile and a deep breath, Levy spoke. "No. To what do I owe this pleasure of your visit?"

The man chuckled and Levy's eyes widened again. With a trembling hand, she brushed some locks of her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry," he apologized after awhile, realizing he was making her uncomfortable. After all he did have the power to make anyone in his presence act cautious. "I wanted to discuss about the translations of the ancient scrolls from the restricted section."

Levy swallowed nervously before she nodded her head. "Sure, what will you like to talk about."

"I think it's better if we somewhere more private. Don't you think?" His dark eyes darted to the left and Levy saw Tim sitting back in his chair while reading a document. However, she knew he was zeroing all of his attention on their conversation. The topic on the ancient scrolls was a private matter and she didn't want anyone else to know about it.

"Yes," she agreed. She moved passed him and began to walk toward the area she believed was private. She knew he would silently follow her. The moment they stopped at the metal doors separating the library from the restricted area, Levy raised her hand and waited for the beams to waver and the doors to open so they could walk in.

"Hello. It's good to s..." The guard stuttered when he saw the chairman was with her. Automatically, he bowed in respect.

"Hello. I hope you're having a good day." Levy politely greeted the guard before walking in a maze around the bookshelves to stop at one bookshelf located against a huge wall in the center of the room. She pulled the book and said a chant and the glyph glowed. The bookshelf shined a blue color and then it became a door, opening for her and the chairman to enter.

"As you can see I spent the last month translating the scrolls. The scrolls in the neat piles are the ones I have been able to decipher and the ones that look untouched are the ones I have to take a look at."

The chairman travelled down the spiral staircase touching certain areas of the shelf with a pointer finger to remove the dust. "Sir, I don't think you want to go all the way downstairs by yourself," she warned. "I think the wood is rotten and won't be able to take any more weight."

On cue, the chairman put his foot on one, the wooden stair moaned and creaked until it cracked in the center. However, the chairman was agile for his age because he stepped back in time to watch the stair disintegrate in small pieces. "You should be very careful not to come here by yourself."

"But sir, I need to decipher these scrolls as soon as possible because they hold so much information to help us understand the past centuries that aren't recorded in history. Plus, the amount of information on subjects such as the different types of lost magic is valuable."

"I understand," he said as his eyes scanned the room. Levy frowned because she remembered getting his note that he wanted to discuss something important with her as soon as possible. "I could see you made much progress in one month." He put a hand to reach section of scrolls. "How are these scrolls organized?"

"They're organized by years. The scrolls beginning on top relay information from two hundred years ago. Then going down, the years increased. I began deciphering scrolls on the top because the language was easier to decipher, seeing that it's not that different from our language. But the language gets more complicated as I look into older scrolls. "

"I see." He looked deep in thought as he walked to the latest pile where Levy checked the last scroll. Seeing that one ancient rolled up parchment was missing, he turned questionable eyes on the blue haired girl. "What happen to this one?"

"I was in the midst of translating that one. It should be at my workstation," Levy said quickly.

"Show me. I am very interested in the progress you made so far with it." Levy rubbed her hands against her jeans as her eyes darted to the section where she worked. Glancing at him, she motioned with her hand to follow her and took him to a section with desks and chairs. There were opens books, pens and a notebook that remained untouched. Stopping in front of her desk, her perfectly arched eyebrows knitted together. Removing some books and putting them on the table next to her, she searched for the scroll.

"That's weird," she muttered. She pushed her pens aside and checked the other desks nearby her workstation and saw nothing that looked like a four century old paper with folds and aged with yellowness. "I know I left it here was when I completed the translation."

"Then you did complete the translation," the chairman said with a raised eyebrow.

Levy twirled and screeched. For a moment, she forgot the Hyberion was behind her. Putting a hand to her chest, she breathed in and out a few times before calming down.

"I did," she confirmed and then realized her mistake. Earlier, she told him she was in the midst of translating the scroll. 'Oh crap! I'm in trouble,' she thought.

"Where did it go?" he questioned. "It's not where the other scrolls are and it's not in your workstation. Maybe it might be at your desk."

Levy shook her head. "I would never be irresponsible to leave an important document out of the restricted section. This document is located in this section for a reason." Levy looked at the chairman with a lot on conviction shining in her eyes. Her voice took on a more professional tone because she loved her job and took her duties seriously.

"What I'm about to say is really important," the chairman said. "Someone filed a claim against you and it's something I know you wouldn't do. But I had to see for myself."

"Wait, what?" Levy was completely shocked. "What claim was filed against me? Who would do that?"

"I'm not allowed to say who," the man warned. "But it doesn't look good for you. The claim is that you took an important document out of the Magic Council Headquarters and you shared confidential information with an outsider."

Levy's pretty face contorted to confusion before she furiously began to deny such allegations against her.

"Levy McGarden," Hyberion said her full name to let her know the serious circumstance she was put in. "I need you tell me the truth or else I won't be able to help you."

Levy sat down on the chair as her body began to tremble. Her knees could no longer support her weight. She put her hands together and put them to her lips while she shook her legs. The chairman hated to see her in such a distressful state but the allegations against her was severe and if she was proven guilty, which so far looked to be the case, then he had to suspend or detain her. One serious rule for working in the Magic Council was to keep information private. Whatever she discovered in the Archive section at the Magic Council remained there.

Tears burst from Levy's eyes and a sob worked its way from her throat. She couldn't believe what was happening to her. Who would file such a claim against her? She worked well with everyone. She might have gone through early promotions during the past six months, but she was a dedicated worker.

"I didn't take the scroll," Levy whispered. The chairman was usually a stoic man but he had a soft spot for Levy. She was hard worker with a cheery personality. Seeing her in a saddened state made him feel terrible. Lightly, he placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him with teary eyes.

"If you didn't, then who do you think took the scroll?"

"I don't know but believe me when I say I didn't take the scroll."

He nodded his head. "What about disclosing information to an outside source?"

Levy inhaled a deep breath before letting it go. She looked down at her hands, threading her fingers together before replying. "I did tell someone."

"Who?"

"Before I tell you who, there's a reason I had to tell that person."

The chairman raised both eyebrows while skeptically looking at the bluenette. Raising watery eyes at him, she told him about the translation being from a lost celestial spirit and her request for someone to seek the celestial stone to stop Zeref. At the mention of Zeref's name, the chairman dark eyes widened with astonishment before they narrowed.

"Are you sure this document was genuine?"

"I checked the age if that's what you mean and I have a trained eye for detecting magical traces if someone tampered with it."

"What you're claiming is very serious since we're dealing with Zeref. So I can assume you told your friend, Lucy Heartfilia?"

Levy opened her mouth but her vocal cords refused to work. She blinked at him owlishly.

Hyberion's thin lip twisted into a smile. "News travels through these halls. I will like very much to meet this amazing woman."

Levy nodded her head, glad that the chairman wasn't taking any drastic measures to punish her for breaking a cardinal rule of working for the Magic Council.

"Although you're not fully off the hook."

She thought optimistically too soon.

"I will pick a time and place for us to meet. Bring your friend and the translation of the document. I will like to take a look at it myself to check if its creditable. Until then, I will decide your penalty for breaking an important rule in the Magic Council. We don't want to have a repeat of a corrupted council."

"Yes."

"Good." He turned his back to her and place one hand on his back in a gentlemanly pose. "You are dismissed for the rest of the day."

Levy blinked at him but didn't want to push his buttons. She got up from her chair and bowed respectfully to him. When she raised herself to her full height, he threw something onto the desk. The object was a shiny clear bead, and automatically, Levy knew it was a newer version of a communication lacrima. However, this bead didn't visualize the person. The bead was to stick in one's ear and the message was heard from it. It was small, convenient, and untraceable.

The chairman nodded his head and walked out the room and Levy beamed at him. She realized that she might have been leaving work earlier than usual but the chairman was on her side.

* * *

Lucy had one of those mornings where things weren't working right. She got up late and made a quick breakfast for herself. But getting up late meant she missed spending time with Levy and she was planning on leaving in the afternoon train to head for Crocus. She only planned on spending a couple of days with Levy before returning home, do a job and make some extra pocket change. She had different thoughts on travelling a journey to finding a place she knew little about.

'It's time to return to the real world,' Lucy thought. 'It was nice to take a break while it lasted.' Packing some of her things, she noticed Levy's notebook was open on the floor along with an old yellowing document. Finding it strange, since she didn't recall Levy showing her the parchment, she knelt on the floor to take a better look at it. However, the inscription was one she couldn't read. She never saw such strange writing nor seen any of the symbols. The writing wasn't neat and there were stains at each end of the paper. Picking up the document with careful hands, Lucy inspected the back to frown. Was this the ancient scroll Levy deciphered? What was it doing in Levy's apartment?

Confused, Lucy put it with Levy's notebook and picked the both of them up to place them on the kitchen table, seeing it was the only table Levy had in her apartment. Then an idea occurred to her, which almost caused her to drop the items in her hand. Shaking her head, she moved with purpose toward the table and put the items down. She took a seat and wondered if her idea was going to work. After all, Levy reported to work to see if she could examine more ancient scrolls to check if there was additional information on stone of light.

Putting a hand in her key pouch, Lucy pulled out a silver key with picture of a cross on it. She chanted the opening phrase before a light flashed from the key and a cross shaped old spirit was floating in the air. His thin arms were folded over chest while one leg crossed over the other one. A big grin spread across Lucy's face at seeing him. She didn't interact with him for awhile so it felt good to see someone familiar to her.

"Grandfather Crux, it's been awhile," she greeted.

"Yes, Lucy, it's been a long a time since we had a conversation." The floating cross smiled in a grandfatherly way at her.

Then, lightly hitting her head, she responded. "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. I guess I was afraid of change. But, oh well. Have you heard of a celestial spirit named Lyerah?"

"You mean Lyra as in the spirit who sings music?"

"No, a spirit named Lyerah who claimed to be the thirteenth zodiac of the golden keys."

The cross eyes bulged from hearing the name of a lost spirit. He almost lost his power with floating in the air, which puzzled Lucy because she always thought it came naturally to him. After a moment, the cross gathered himself together before he replied to her question. "I never thought I would hear about her again."

"So you heard of her?" Lucy questioned carefully.

"Yes, but if don't mind me asking, how did you hear about her?" Crux was curious as to how his mistress discovered about the forgotten spirit. After so many centuries, no one dared to mention her name in the celestial world.

"Levy came across an ancient scroll in her handwriting." And so Lucy told him about the ancient scroll and the translated language on top the table, however, Crux didn't need to read Levy's notebook. He was able to read the scroll and for a brief moment, she saw moisture gathered in his small eyes before wiping them away. From his reaction, Lucy registered that the scroll was creditable and someone knew Lyerah.

There was a long moment of silence before Crux said something causing Lucy to jump in her seat. "Her constellation was known as Angel. After she was banished for committing a taboo, her constellation became known as Fallen Angel."

"Oh," was what Lucy could say. She didn't know how to console the old spirit.

"Her constellation died and humans forgot her existence in their history but the celestial spirits remembered her. We just couldn't understand how she fell in love with someone as dark as him."

Lucy noticed how the cross refused to mention Lyerah's name. Instead he mentioned "her" to represent Lyerah. So when he said "him," he was referring to Zeref.

"Was it bad for her to fall in love with Zeref?" Lucy questioned.

"Yes!" the old spirit exclaimed before realizing his place and immediately apologized for his behavior.

Lucy forgave him and asked him if he could explain without breaking the confidentially rights of the spiritual world. "I can speak of her without saying her name. If I say her name, then I am breaking the law of the celestial laws and I will be incurring the wrath of the Celestial King."

Lucy nodded in understanding.

"She had so much potential. She was the strongest leader of the zodiac keys with the gift to rival Zeref's power. Her source of power came from a stone as you know and she was the only one who could control it. However, she fell in love with the enemy from under our nose and she chose to let him live when her duty was to kill him. It was the worst betrayal any celestial spirit can do to their kind. She couldn't live without him. I guess she was right." The cross shook his head in sympathy. "She lost everything in the celestial world. Her home, her friends, her key; she sacrificed it all for him. And in the end she died alone."

A sob escaped Lucy's throat and Crux really looked at his mistress' face with astonishment. "Lucy?" More tears unbendingly fell down her face to fall on her lap. She closed her hands over lap as she bent her head down to hide her miserable face. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know how to react to this story. It's just sad that she fell in love and that she didn't have a happy ending and that the spirits in the celestial world suffered too."

The cross shook his head. "You shouldn't be apologizing for the past. What happened was between her, him, and the spirits."

"But that's why I'm apologizing." Lucy lifted her teary eyes to him and what he saw flickering in her eyes made his breath stop. "I know how it's like to be sad, to feel like the world abandoned you. Yet, in the end, she's asking for someone to save him. She's not concern for herself. She may have had a sad ending, but she's more selfless than anything."

"Lucy?"

"And I will be the one to complete her mission. I will get the celestial stone and I will be the one to face Zeref," Lucy said with determination laced in her voice.

"But you know what you're getting yourself in," Crux tried to admonish her but she was turning stubborn and when she was in one of those moods, it was hard to change her mind.

"All I need you to do is tell me how to get to Edo. Can you do that?" Lucy asked while getting up and wiping her tears with the back of her hands.

"Yes," he finally answered. If he couldn't change her mind, then he could do his best to support her in her new mission.

"Then, let's do it."

* * *

Levy rushed home as fast as possible. She had to intercept Lucy's journey home or she didn't know when was the next time she would see her best friend again. The chairman wanted to meet with the both of them. He was planning something, but she didn't know what. She passed people, dashed between moving carts, used short cuts all while trying to gasp for air. All the time sitting in the library while reading books didn't help her physical condition.

She passed a restaurant, moved around a fruit vendor and noticed the crowds were dissipating. The road was almost at an end. The smallest building was facing her. Stopping before the building, Levy bent over and placed her hands on her knees while gasping for breath. Sweat dripped from her forehead to fall on the road. Her heart thundered in her ears. She couldn't give up. Home was right before her. Straightening to her full height, Levy ran the rest the way to her front building, quickly shoving her house keys from her pocket. She opened the main building door and went through the narrow passage, skipping two stairs at a time to reach the top. The first door on the right was her apartment and Lucy would be there or so she hoped. Placing the key in the lock, Levy flipped the key until she heard a familiar click. Opening the door, Levy rushed inside calling Lucy's name.

"Lucy!" She looked down at the couch to see the blankets were neatly folded. The pillows were fluffed out next to it. "Lucy!" Levy called out to her, heading for the bathroom, but Levy noticed that her navy blue duffel bag wasn't on the floor. Beginning to panic, Levy opened the bathroom door to see darkness. Moving to the kitchen, Levy checked the table to see her notebook was open but there was writing on a new page that caused an uneasiness to settle in the pit of her stomach.

 _Levy,_

 _I talked with Crux and he has devised a way to get to Edo. I will be heading home first to take care of personal matters and then I will be leaving on a journey to look for the stone of light. I don't know how long the journey will take but by the time you try to reach me, I will be gone. Don't worry about me. You should worry about finding more information about the stone and you might want to contact some members of our former guild. We may be needing their help after all. Until then, please take care of yourself and I will do the same._

 _Your friend,_

 _Lucy Heartfilia_

And Levy fell to her knees, while solemnly shaking her head. Lucy was traveling on a dangerous journey. Without knowing more information about what was Edo or who would be there waiting for her, Levy couldn't help but be concerned for her friend's well being.

"Sometimes you can be so dense like Natsu," Levy whispered to no one. "Please be safe."


	3. Finding the Other World

**I just returned from my vacation and I feel refreshed! I'm also happy because Inuyasha's world finally comes into play in this third section! Just to remind you, the characters are ooc and in Inuyasha's part, I mixed a lot of the Japanese terms with English terms, such as miko with priestess.**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed, and added this story to follow and favorite. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

When Lucy moved into the hut at the outskirts of Crocus, Lucy took the money she saved for the past five months and bought the hut from an old lady who wanted to part with some of her land. According to the elderly woman, she was becoming too old to take care of the land and wanted someone who was young enough take pride in what the land had to offer. The hut was near a forest, surrounded by a beautiful little garden of flowers. In the back, there were some herbs and vegetables the old lady grew. However, the wood on the hut walls were rotting, there were cracks on the floorboards, the windows were stained with dirt and mildew and the roof badly needed repairs. Quite in the back of the herb and vegetable garden was an old well and a bathhouse with running water amenities.

Lucy moved from the city life and gave up the luxuries to move in a secluded area because she was tired of worrying about if she had enough money for rent. By the time she completed her jobs to make sufficient money to pay the rent in Magnolia, she didn't have enough money for food. And she really needed to buy food because her new training schedule to get stronger and with the manual labor jobs she chose to make more money, left her exhausted and hungry. Before she moved to Crocus, she left her apartment to room with a complete stranger. She sold her shoes, clothes and jewelry for whatever price and saved the jewels. And for the five months of building her savings, she searched for the right place to begin her new life. That was when she came across the old hut advertised in the newspaper. Apparently, the work needed to spruce the place into living standard conditions turned buyers away. But Lucy didn't mind camping outdoors and she had her spirits who were willing to help her with the labor. Loke knew how to use hammer and nails. Taurus was an efficient wood's cutter. Virgo was a very good cook, negotiator with market buying and could grow food. Cancer converted his stylist ideas into interior decoration. Aries supplied the wool for Lucy to make pillow cases, a soft bed, and to make a few simple dresses. With the rest of Lucy's money, she bought a few pair of simple clothes.

Life was hard for her, but she grew used to it and made something of herself while living in the hut. And the better news was she didn't have to pay the full price on the little house or land. She protected the old lady from bandits the first time they met and three times a week, Lucy checked on her to make sure she was alright. Eventually, she began to help the elderly woman with her chores and run errands in town for her once a week. These tasks was the building block to knowing people to get other jobs.

However, the elderly woman had a secret that Lucy didn't know until a young and rich woman visited her with a beautifully designed wooden box. For some reason the young woman couldn't open the box no matter if a phillip head screw driver or a hammer was used to break it in half. It took one glance for old lady to realize there was a powerful spell protecting the box from opening. She closed her eyes and cracked one open. With a bunch of words spilling from her mouth, she made a song. Right before everyone's eyes a yellow flash of light burst from the wooden box. When the light settled, there were lines all around the box and the woman sighed. She explained the lines were magical threads weaved into knots and only she could unknot it to get to whatever treasure was lying in the box. And so she spent hours unweaving the threads, while the rich woman stayed by her house. The magic was completed and the lady handsomely awarded the elderly lady with a large sum of money. It was then, Lucy learned the old woman's name was Ada Holl. After that encounter, Ada explained she knew a lost magic called the Hidden Magic. There were spells that were placed on items and locations to hide them. However the Hidden Magic was a type of magic that could reveal any concealed item or place. The only attribute the user of Hidden Magic needed was a keen eye.

"What are we doing here?" Loke asked as he followed Lucy to Ada's house, located on the outskirts of Crocus. They had finally made it home a couple days later and Lucy stopped by her home to pick up a few items. When she was repacking her bag, did she notice the ancient scroll folded neatly among her clothes. After her discussion with Crux, he decided that the scroll was enchanted. This was when Lucy announced she was visiting Ada's house.

"I'm checking to see if the Ms. Ada might know if there's some magical charm on the scroll," Lucy said with a frown. "For some reason I can't detect any magic but Crux was able to assure me there some ancient spell on it."

"Oh, I see," Loke said. "If there's some enchantment, the old lady will be able to sense it."

"Exactly," Lucy agreed. "And there 's no one with a keener eye then Ms. Ada."

They both stopped in front of a white house with a white picket fence. There a pathway of brick stones leading to the front door. Flowers decorated both sides of the yard in bright colors, making Lucy smile. Ada took her gardening seriously; she said that a garden spoke of a person's connection with the earth.

Lucy made it halfway through the front yard, when she paused. Accidently, Loke bumped into her, almost causing them to topple over. A semi-dirtied and wrinkled face popped from between some yellow lilies making Lucy screeched while Loke was forced to jump on his feet in a fighting stance. The old woman grinned at the visitors' reactions before fully standing up and wiping at the dirt on her apron.

"Sorry to startle the both of you, young children." Ada chuckled as Lucy wobbly got to her feet. "Maybe I caught you two at a bad time."

"No!" The blond woman quickly exclaimed. "We weren't doing anything improper!" Lucy's face flamed but she turned to look at Loke and continued with, "Right, Loke?"

Loke looked between the elderly woman and a scarlet faced Lucy. A broad smile took over his face as he decided to tease his mistress a bit. "What do you mean? We were started to get cozy one with another when you -."

The blond woman slapped his shoulder while her lips pursed. The lion spirit couldn't help but laugh at the blond. She could be so cute sometimes when she was caught off guard.

The old woman laughed at the lively pair before walking on the brick pathway that led to the front door of her home. "Follow me, please," she requested them with her back facing them. Lucy and Loke trailed after Ada until she opened her door to them. Once inside, the old woman stepped out of her shoes and instructed them to do the same. They walked across the hardwood floor into the center of the room. Lucy had been to Ada's house every week so she wasn't surprised to see how big the living room was with a three seater couch, a coffee table with a few Chester drawers and vases full of white lilies. The old woman waved her hand for them to have a seat on the couch. Lucy was the first one to sit down. Loke followed her manners.

"Shall I get you some coffee or tea?" the old woman questioned while grabbing a wet handkerchief from coffee table and wiping her face clean. Lucy knew Ada was a polite woman, but she needed to begin her journey as soon as possible. Crux told her that in order to enter a different world, Lucy had to look for a certain area with a lot of magical energy. Only one place popped into her mind. The place where the Grand Magical Games were held. The Eclipse Gate project was said to absorb infinite amount of magical energy from the participants of the Grand Games over the decades. Although the Eclipse Gates were destroyed, Lucy knew the stadium was still fresh from the release of magic. Maybe the magic was enough to float through the air of Crocus, giving her the option of opening the gate anywhere. The stadium's security doubled with armed forces since the last attack from future Rogue.

"No, thank you," Lucy simply replied. Loke followed her example. Without wasting any time, Lucy pulled a key from her pouch and summoned her maid spirit. With a poof, Virgo stood in front of her and bowed before her with a navy blue duffel bag at the spirit's feet. Lucy smiled in appreciation and unzipped the bag to retrieve the ancient scroll. Once in her grip, she neatly and carefully unrolled the yellow aged paper. She stood up and placed on Ada's coffee table. "This ancient scroll was discovered by my friend. It's said to be four hundred years old. If you don't mind, can you take a look at it? At a brief glance, it appears to be an old document. But I feel there's some kind of magical enchantment placed on it."

Ada slowly walked to the coffee table. Lucy noticed the gentleness was replaced with a serious and cold exterior as the old lady examined the ancient document. She closed both eyes and began whispering a foreign language. One eye cracked open and Lucy held her breath as she saw the woman's eye color changed from brown to gold. Immediately, the parchment blew up and little pieces of papers were floating into the air. Lucy stepped back into Loke, never realizing he was standing behind her. She felt Virgo rested a light hand on her shoulder, to reassure her that her spirits were by her side.

The little pieces of papers remained floating in the air until a golden line was connecting from one paper to another one. The old woman's voice broke Lucy's observation on the shredded document. "The ancient scroll had a follow charm and it's hiding a little treasure."

Lucy let out a breath as she watched Ada work on unthreading the lines. One by one the little pieces of paper dropped on the coffee, leaving Lucy in awe at the old lady's skill to unravel puzzles. In what felt like an eternity, a bright light temporarily blinded all the occupants in the living room. When the light faded, a broken piece of jewel was left amongst the small pieces of papers. Loke reached out to touch the jewel when the woman slapped at his hand. "Don't touch it! You don't know if someone cursed it," Ada admonished at the careless spirit.

"Who would have thought a broken stone was the embodiment of an ancient scroll?" Loke asked, more or so thinking aloud.

"A broken stone?" Lucy questioned before shaking her head. "That's it! Lyerah mentioned looking for a stone of light in Edo. If this is a piece of it, there are more somewhere. But how can we locate the other pieces?"

"That's quite simple, child." The old lady blinked her magical eye on the stone before it shimmered and dimmed. Then a string of light appeared and it continued to shine, pointing a way outside Ada's home without diminishing. "The stone isn't cursed. This stone is a bit of a puzzle that will lead you to what you're searching for."

"How can you be sure?" Loke questioned a bit more forcefully as he straightened to his full height. He didn't like the idea of his mistress wandering into an unknown place. It could be a trap.

"The magic in the stone shines with light magic. If the magic was dark, the following charm wouldn't have activated on it. Her celestial magic activated the magic in the scroll to follow her and act as guide to take her wherever she needs to be." Ada pointed to the stone on the table. "And that's your guide to take you there."

"Thank you Ms. Ada," Lucy beamed. She dashed to the woman and hugged her. The elderly woman awkwardly hugged her in return. Lucy stepped back before giving her one last tender smile. "I have one more favor to ask you."

"What is it, child?"

"Can you use some of your hidden magic to veil my home?" The elderly woman was about to open her mouth to bombard Lucy with questions but the celestial mage shook her head. "I don't have time to explain. All you need to know is I'm going on a journey to retrieve something that is very important." The woman's eyes darted to the little white jewel shimmering against the chocolate color of the coffee table. "People will be searching for me, friends and foes alike. It's better if they don't know where I live."

Loke's eyebrows furrowed. Lucy could tell he didn't approve of anyone not knowing her location. "Trust me."

Loke didn't say anything. Ada assured Lucy she would hide her home. "Thank you so much."

"Be careful." Ada gave her a stern look.

Lucy nodded her head in understanding. She picked the stone carefully and the light pointed directly towards Ada's front door. She moved to the front, slipped on her shoes before taking a step outside. The shining light pointed to the pathway Lucy and Loke walked on to get to Ada's place. In fact, the light was streaming in the direction of her home. Pausing in mid-step, she never acknowledged Loke's and Virgo's presence were beside her until Virgo's voice startled her.

"What's wrong princess?" There was concern marring the maid's face.

Loke didn't have to wait for Lucy to answer. "The light is pointing towards our princess' home."

"That doesn't sound very good," Virgo said after some thought.

"If this little jewel is showing you the way to the stone of light, it means it's giving you the direction to locate the other pieces of the stone."

With a sudden intake of breath, Lucy realized that the tiny jewel in her hand was a part of the celestial stone. If she had to obtain the stone, she was going to find parts and who knew how many pieces she had to acquire to get the full stone. Plus, who knew how long the journey would take for her to complete it. With a swelling in her chest, Lucy took a step forward in the path of her home, deciding to go with the flow and hope she would survive to get the stone to defeat Zeref. At least, she wasn't doing it alone. She had her spirits with her.

* * *

A couple days had passed since E.N.D. caught a whiff of a familiar scent that reminded him of one of the prey he was hunting. It happened unexpectedly while passing through Crocus region. As a demon, he was able to travel faster flying through the air than walking on his feet. The demon wings on his back spread as the wind rushed pass him and with it the scent of the earth. Her scent was one of those addicting smells he would never miss. It was honeysuckle mixed with vanilla. That sweet smell of hers was how Natsu was able to find her when they separated to fight battles against their opponents. The demon's smile was feral as he imagined the different ways he could play with her before killing her. He wanted to leave a mark on her body so that if Natsu discovered her corpse, his rage would turn into acid and then E.N.D. could finally join his original body instead of being in a shadowed one that Zeref made for him.

Sticking within the shade of the trees to avoid any travelers, he lowered himself until his feet were hopping lightly at each branch, keeping him from being detected by anyone with magical abilities but at the same time locating the blond girl. He jumped down and landed lightly on his feet when he saw fresh footprints on the road. Kneeling down, he inspected the footprints to discern there were three people. Two smaller footprints were clearly made by two females due to the curves of the feet while other one was quite flat and wide; distinctly male. He growled, assessing that he might have to battle two figures before reaching his prey. Raising his head to sniff the air, his nostrils flared as one figure smelled strangely of baked cookies and chocolate while the other one smelled of expensive cologne and sandalwood. E.N.D. inhaled a little before he sneezed. Apparently, he was allergic to the male so he would take him out before he was wheezing to death due to allergies.

Moving closer to the shadows, E.N.D. decided to blend in while he dashed quickly and quietly along the trail. He continued to follow the path until he noticed a glowing light in the distance. Automatically, he stilled, his feet planted firmly on the dirt as he raised his head to sniff the air. The smell was unlike anything he ever came across. The aroma was musky and sweet at the same time. There was a pungent of scent in the magic that was as old as Zeref. However, there was clearly no intent to harm anyone, just a harmonic feeling of walking on feathers. E.N.D. was uncomfortable with the difference in the atmosphere. He wanted to soar in the sky and call on darkness to vamp out the light magic floating through the woods.

Swiftly shaking his head, E.N.D. continued to move through the woods with an agility that could rival a leopard. He was seriously thinking about stalking his prey instead of attacking by surprise. With the light magic in the air, he felt as if he underestimated the blond girl's astuteness. She probably sensed his dark presence and was preparing herself for a fight. Didn't she call on spirits from another world? The other two auras he sensed prior were her companions that she summoned to trail his position in the forest. The light was her own magic preparing to rain down upon him should he directly attack her. And he had to wonder how did she get so powerful in such little time. From the memories Zeref provided him, he recalled she barely had enough magical power to summon two spirits at the same time and conjure the urano metria spell. Now, she had two spirits out for more than thirty minutes since he had been trailing her location in the forest and the light enchantment was settling in the forest like clouds.

'Shit!' he thought. 'The little wench is drawing out my location!'

He rose from the shadows of the trees and summoned the wings on his back. With the added strength of the extra limbs on his back, they contorted and contracted before he leaped from the ground and extended his wings to glide in the air. When his wings caught the rush of winds, he moved with extraordinary speed to search for the blond celestial mage. Forget about traveling in the shade of the trees or catching her by surprise. Since she was aware of his existence, he might as well rush into battle against her spirits and then deal with her.

He shook his head at her pitiful attempts to survive a battle against him, the most powerful demon of Zeref's creations. The edge of his lips tilted into a cruel smile as he imagined lunging at her chest, his hand delving deep into muscles and tissues as her body squirmed under him while blood soaked her, her eyes welling in tears as screams tore through her sweet little mouth and he would pull out her beating heart and watch the final light leave her brown eyes.

It was a sight he would revel in and her heart would be his delivery to the salmon haired dragon slayer. After all, why did the idiot leave one of his treasures unguarded? He thought every dragon was fierce about protecting what he viewed as treasure and this girl was an exception. Her blond hair glimmered in the sunlight like gold. Her eyes were wide and expressive and he sensed how Natsu reacted to her feelings without being aware of it. The dragon slayer named Natsu Dragneel was incredibly brainless. How was he related to Zeref? The pink haired boy was going to pay with despair when he found out about her death.

The demon chuckled as he landed on his feet. The light shimmered brightly by a small hut surrounded by pale colors. However, the light was pointing to something else. He saw three figures standing by an old well. The blond haired girl cupped a small object that was responding to something in it. The other two figures, one dressed in a maid's costume with what looked to be prisoner chains dangling from her wrists and the other one was dressed in fancy black suit and wearing shades, looked extremely out of place in a forest. Then, as if one of them sensed his presence, the guy dressed in a suit turned to look in his direction. Automatically, he stiffened. The other spirit might have noticed his reaction, because she turned around too. He didn't care about them. The celestial mage was all that mattered to him.

The demon detected the way she stilled. He heard her whoosh of breath as she turned to face him. Then her coffee eyes widened with something akin to fear and disbelief. The object she cupped in her hands dropped to the ground as it illuminated. A pulse radiated from it but a name breathed from her feminine pink lips. "Natsu."

His eyes narrowed as his hands clenched into fists. His muscles tightened as the light pulsed and before he knew it, he dashed at the girl who was staring at him with amazement. She let down her guard and left herself vulnerable. Only she didn't know he was not the same Natsu she knew. He was a high ranking demon, with the most powerful magical aura beside Zeref, not a dragon slayer.

It was too bad she had to die.

* * *

Who would have ever thought the broken piece of stone would lead Lucy to the well by her hut? As she, Loke and Virgo stopped to inspect the well, the jewel illuminated briefly before the well began to glow. All of a sudden, Lucy saw Loke's form tensed with alarm and he peered over his shoulder with a pure look of astonishment on his face. Virgo follow his example, her usually stoic face turning stunned as well. Lucy closed her eyes, calling on her magical aura to scan her surroundings, as Capricorn taught her. She felt something dark and sinister standing a few feet away from her beyond the light magic engulfing the area.

Slowly, she turned around to face the enemy. "Princess, I think you should focus on the magic coming from the well." Loke replied a bit too late.

A breath of air escaped Lucy's parted lips, but with that breath, a particular name was said. "Natsu." Unconsciously, her hands parted and the small stone fell to the floor. Her body began to tremble as she gazed at the person in front of her with disbelief and shock. Wasn't she suppose to him see a few months from now? Why did he appear so different? Where was Happy?

Lucy didn't have enough time to ponder on any more questions, because the one who grabbed her full attention aimed a blow at her, but Loke intervened by shielding her from the attack and meeting Natsu's dark fist with an regulus move. What happened to Natsu's flames?

Lucy stepped back, eyeing Natsu carefully as she noticed the main differences in him. This Natsu had red pointy horns on his head, black bat like wings protruding from his back, his smiles were darker, and his black eyes converted into a deep red color that reminded her of blood when he was attacking his opponents. His actions appeared more graceful than his hotheaded moves. He wasn't wearing the scarf Igneel left him. He was not the same Natsu Lucy had last encountered. This person was an entirely a different Natsu.

The moment Loke shielded Lucy from Natsu's punch by colliding his regulus fist with Natsu's, the impact forced a crater on the ground where both males were standing. They jumped back and dashed at each other, exchanging blows and kicks. Virgo took the distraction as time to watch her opponent for weaknesses and to protect her mistress. Lucy's knees weakened and she collapsed on the ground. Her brown eyes were wide with sadness and fright. Even Virgo was shocked at Natsu for wanting to attack his best friend.

When both men separated, Loke fell onto one knee. He wiped the blood leaking from a cut on his head. Natsu looked uninjured and smiled sardonically at Loke's condition. "Loke!" Virgo called trying to get to his side but Loke raised his hand to stop her.

"No matter what you do, stay at our princess' side! He's after her!"

Virgo nodded her head and stood in front of her mistress, waiting for Natsu's attack. He deserved punishment.

"Why are you trying to hurt Lucy?" Loke questioned

The dark Natsu straightened his form and crossed his arms over his chest. A smirk tugged on his lips. "I want her dead, of course."

Lucy whimpered as she shook her head. Her face grimaced at hearing her partner's answer.

"Why do want her dead? She's your partner and best friend!" Loke yelled. He struggled to stand on his feet.

"It's simple, really." Natsu uncrossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders. "She's a weakness I have to get rid of."

"What do you mean our princess is a weakness?" Virgo asked as her hands clenched into fists.

Natsu shook his head as his smirk turned into a careless grin, the same one Lucy loved to see on his face. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Oh, come on. Don't tell you didn't notice she was the weakest one in Team Natsu?"

"No, she wasn't," Loke disagreed.

"Yes, she was," Natsu was quick to retort. "She was always the one to stand in the background with tears in her eyes. She never contributed any physical power or brain power in any of our missions. She was either kidnapped or the simpering idiot who was almost beaten to death. And her logic of reasoning, forgiving enemies who hurt her made her gullible and stupid. I'm only doing our ex-guild a favor by getting rid of trash."

Deep inside, Lucy knew that Natsu never considered her weak. He always complimented her on summoning skills and encouraged her to do better yet to hear such hurtful words coming from his dark lips, made her wonder if some dark part of him must have thought of her as nothing but a weakling. He was right when he mentioned she was the damsel in distress. Her fighting skills were incomparable to his, Gray's and Erza's skills. She was nothing but a shadow in their midst and she held them back on numerous missions. Plus, he and Happy did leave her to train on getting stronger for the upcoming fight against Zeref and his demons.

"How can you say that?" Loke was quick to defend her honor, but it was too late. Natsu's words damaged her heart.

"I wish I can be stronger so my magic can rival that of Zeref's magic," Lucy whispered. A gust of wind enveloped her words and gushed past her, but the dark Natsu heard her words plain and clear. He stopped smirking as his form tensed, as if waiting for something to happen. Loke noticed tension was building in the atmosphere. He raised his head into the sky to see the light magic cleared in the forest. It was Virgo who turned her attention to the well behind Lucy and she saw the glow changed from a white to blue. The magic intensified to a point the magical pressure forced Virgo to her knees. Even the dark Natsu could barely stand.

There was a sudden pulse, like a heartbeat and the blue glow surrounded Lucy's form.

"I want power," a voice eerily echoed from the depths of the well. "I want the shikon shard." Pale hands surfaced on the well's rim. A face framed with stringy black hair pushed it's way out the well, and unceremoniously fell to the floor. The white body held many arms and the hands from those arms were reaching for Lucy, but Lucy never looked behind her. Instead, she was on her hands and knees, her forehead touched ground as she struggled not to be crushed from the intense magical pressure. Numerous hands grabbed at Lucy's legs, dragging her along the dirt until she reached the well. Lucy fought as best she could, lashing at the arms with her kicks, but the arms efficiently restrained her movements. Lucy only had time to get the stone as she was pulled against the well. Her body slammed at the rim, her back bowing like a bowstring before she let out a piercing scream.

"Lucy!" she heard Loke's voice call to her through her haze of pain.

"Princess!" Virgo cried her name.

"Give me the shikon shard," the voice whispered close to her ear. Arms wrapped around her prone form. "I want power and only the shard can give it to me." Lucy saw all three figures. One was heading straight for her. There was a flash of blinding light and Lucy felt herself being tugged in the recesses of darkness. Her friends were gone.

* * *

It had been three weeks since Kagome Higurashi sensed a shikon shard and from all the endless wandering in Japan that she, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara were doing, Kagome wanted to quit the mission. Dragging miserable feet through the dirt, she glared at the silver haired hanyou for slave driving them through the forest without a break.

"That's it, I'm tired!" Kagome exclaimed as she stopped walking and stomped her foot on the floor. Automatically, she winced in pain. Sitting on the soiled ground, not caring if her short school skirt got dirtied, she took off her shoe to rub at her aching heel.

Inuyasha was forced to stop moving and he watched with a frown as Kagome's foot jerked in pain. Not glancing at the other travelers, he made his way to Kagome and knelt beside her. She watched with astonishment as Inuyasha gently removed her hand from her foot to replace it with his larger one. He began to tenderly massage her aching foot. Everyone else watched with shock written on their faces. They couldn't believe that the hanyou was doing something simple and domestic as rubbing the miko's foot. Usually, he would be caught dead for doing a nice gesture. He was either too stubborn or too childish.

However, Kagome had to admit that Inuyasha changed somewhat the past two years since the shikon jewel broke into several pieces. He was more considerate of others by making frequent stop at villages to fight demons. He was less moody, meaning Kagome didn't have to yell the magic word to crash him into the ground. And he was trusting her with more about information from his past. But it wasn't helping with her feelings for him. When the hanyou was either too childish or stubborn, Kagome was reminded of the reason why she could hold back her emotions and be cold about how she worded her sentences. After all, he did ask for it. Lately, she was thinking twice before saying something to him. When he offered her to ride piggy back, she had to avert her face to hide the sudden blush. And if the fights against demons took place, he was the first one to shout her name and quickly get to her side.

So, of course she was a blubbering mess when she felt the way his large hand molded around the heel of her foot, rubbing and smoothing out the achiness from one area to a next area causing her to blush. Beside her feelings for him, she felt like she was failing him at not being able to detect a shikon shard. Inuyasha briefly halted with massaging her foot as he raised his head into the air. His nostrils flared for a moment before his golden eyes stared into her own with a certain intensity. Her cheeks flamed and she lowered her head so that her raven hair hid scarlet cheeks. Inuaysha's lips quirked into a grin.

This action didn't go unnoticed by their traveling companions. Miroku smirked as he sat down next to the beautiful demon slayer. His hands opened as his fingers wiggled in the air. "Do you care for a massage on your aching feet my dear?" The demon slayer regarded him for a second, lifting one dark brow before dropping her fist on his head. He fell back, his eyes seeing stars. "That was so worth it," he mumbled.

Shippo laughed and shook his head at the monk's perverseness. He cuddled right next to the cat demon, Kirara. Since they were both small, they had the luxury of getting the best spots to hang out, which at the moment was beside a tree.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sango said to him in a furious tone. "You didn't touch me."

"I will, one day," the monk dressed in purple robes confessed. He sat up and the demon slayer hit him on his head again.

"In your dreams."

Kagome lightly laughed at the pair, thankful for the distraction. Inuyasha glanced up at the tree before announcing, "It's time we take a break." He dropped Kagome's yellow school bag that was wrapped around his shoulders onto the ground next to her. He leaped into the tree to settle himself against a tree trunk. Kagome watched as he slung his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. She shook her head.

There was a brief moment of silence as everyone was resting when Kagome's head shot into the air. She stood up, alerting everyone else that there was something in the air. They stopped what they were doing, raised themselves to their full heights. Their bodies were rigid and ready to fight. Inuyasha jumped beside her within a second.

The familiar pulse reached her as she felt something was tugging her toward a direction. Feet stepping toward the pulling sensation, Kagome raised her hand and pointed for Inuyasha and the others to travel. Inuyasha stepped before her and lowered his back. Placing her legs on either side of his back, she felt his strong arms wrapped around her thighs. She hugged his head with her slender arms as she placed her chin on his shoulder. He dashed off, leaving the others to follow his lead.

"It's strange," Inuyasha said, catching Kagome's attention. "We're heading in the direction of the well."

"Are we?" Kagome asked as concern laced her voice.

Inuyasha nodded his head. The others observed the same thing and they picked up their pace.

"We have to hurry!" Kagome cried out as Inuyasha ran faster, dodging trees and moving with the wind. "Kaede's village could be in danger!"

"We'll be there!" Inuyasha yelled over the wind. As they got closer to Kaede's village, they noticed the folks were at peace. Instead, Kagome averted her attention to the location of the well. The tugging sensation was getting stronger.

"We have to head for the Bone-Eater's Well," she said out loud, making sure everyone could hear her. "I can sense a shikon shard."

Inuyasha's fluffy ears raised with interest. A smirk played across his face at the mention of a shard. It was about time they finally encountered a demon who was carrying one. The shikon shard gave demons immense power but since the past two years the only ones who had been giving Inuyasha and his companions a problem were Naraku and his demons.

"Do you think it's Naraku?" Miroku asked. He was sitting behind Sango as they rode on Kirara's back.

"No," the hanyou answered. "I don't smell his stench anywhere."

The well came into sight, only it was glowing a blue color. Frowning, Kagome thought of one time the well shimmered with that color and realized that it happened during the first time she was transported to Edo. As if someone was answering her question, pale hands popped from edge of the well. A long, skanky body dragged across the grass.

"Mine," a dark voice echoed.

The group got closer to the demon and Kagome's mouth opened in shock. She felt the muscles in Inuyasha's body tensed while his arms tightened around her thighs.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Kagome quietly asked him, making sure the others didn't over hear.

"Yeah," he answered. His golden eyes widened for a bit before they narrowed. "Who would have ever thought we would have to face the bitch again?"

Mistress Centipede.

The demon awkwardly slithered across the grass, retreating from the well into the forest.

"No you don't, bitch," Inuyasha taunted as he released his hold on Kagome, hearing her feet land softly on the grass, and he pulled out his Tessaiga. He watched it transform into it's true form, a large and deadly sword.

The demon stopped skittering away as a mass of stringy hair turned his direction. His eyebrows lifted when he saw a distorted face looking at him. "What in the hell happened to you?"

The demon didn't answer him. Instead her voice echoed again, "Mine."

Not caring about the demon's state or wondering why the demon kept saying one word, Inuyasha lifted his big sword and dashed at it. However, Kagome was quick to examine the demon, noticing the differences from the last time she was attacked for the shikon jewel. The body looked to have purely human skin with arms but the way the arms were clutching at something made the mistress centipede appear weird. Shifting closer to the demon while Sango, Miroku and Kirara stood on the sidelines, ready to join the fight, Kagome saw the demon wriggled and there a patch of blond hair between the hands.

Kagome's eyes widened in horror as realization struck her. The demon was clutching to someone who had a shikon shard. Inuyasha was about to slice the person in half along with the demon. Kagome had to think quickly before he killed an innocent person along with the demon.

"Inuyasha, the shard is located in her hair!" Kagome called to him.

Inuyasha stopped his swipe in midair and jumped back. He surveyed the area, taking in the location the demon was moving. Locating the head, he repositioned his swipe and ran at the demon. She tried to retaliate by hitting him with her arms, but he dodged each strike and cleanly swiped at the head, detaching it from the body. He kicked it from the body, not taking the chance that centipede demon was going to regenerate.

Kagome acted on Inuyasha's distraction; she ran to the mistress centipede's body and started pulling at the arms covering a petite form. Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara watched with confusion on their faces since she said the shikon shard was located in the hair.

"Oye, where are you looking for the shard? It's in her hair!" Inuyasha yelled at her but her concentration was set on freeing the blond from the grasp of the demon. She hoped they weren't too late with saving the person's life. The moment Sango saw Kagome move away arms to reveal a golden head, Sango rushed to assist her. They shoved away more arms that was wrapped around a feminine form and Kagome couldn't help but notice that the female was dressed in different clothes.

"Kagome, what are you doing?" he asked but his eyes widened on the mysterious form. "Is she a demon?"

"Is she alright?" Miroku questioned as he stooped down to his knees to get a better look at the girl.

"No, she's not a demon," the miko answered Inuyasha's question. Once the blond was free from the demon's clutches, she bent down and placed her head on the female's chest. There was a faint heartbeat and Kagome let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Yes, she's going to be okay."

"She's wearing odd clothes, don't you think?" Kagome lifted her upper body until she was sitting on her knees. Observing the prone form before her, the blond had on a dirtied white t-shirt, tightly ripped jeans caked with blood and dirt. The female's exposed skin was scratched and bruised. Her hair was the most unusual color. From Kagome's time period, blond people were foreigners from the western countries. This woman might have come from her time because she wore similar clothes.

Brushing the golden hair away from her face, she heard a moan from the prone form. The blonde's head shifted and her eyelids opened slowly, blinking a couple of times before she saw a large pool of brown eyes staring at her.

"Wow," Shippo said, drawing the attention of the blond, before she stirred, realizing there were unknown strangers surrounding her form. The blond panicked, struggling to sit up and moved away but Kagome quickly stood on her feet and backed away from the light haired woman. She waved at her friends to copy her movements and they did. They all raised their hands in the air as a sign of peace to let the golden haired woman know they weren't going to hurt her.

"W-who a-re you?" the woman croaked as she finally was able to sit up in her seat. She was about to shift away from the strangers when the sight of centipede's dead body caused her to squeak. She scrambled away from the body to bump into Sango.

Kagome saw how the blond craned her neck and jerked away from the demon slayer. "I'm sorry," she barely whispered. Feeling sorry for the female who appeared out of place made her want to help her. Kagome kept her hands in front of her so the blond could see them as she slowly accosted the woman. The woman looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"It's okay. Everything is okay," Kagome said as she tried to comfort the strange woman. "My name is Kagome. I'm a sort of like a priestess and these are my friends." She pointed to each of them as she said their names. "Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Shippo. We won't hurt you."

The blond exchanged glances between each person before she glanced at the one dressed in a school uniform. The other people were wore traditional clothes that were usually worn in bathhouses or dojos.

Kagome pointed to the demon. "Mistress centipede had you in its clutches and we had to kill her to get to you." She gave the woman time to digest her words so she could gain her trust. If the golden haired woman saw truth in her words, she would open up to them and tell them about how she got her hands on a shikon shard and how she came into their world.

"Kagome?" she heard hanyou's voice. She moved her hand toward him to stop him from doing anything reckless.

"She has the shard."

"Then, we have to get it from her."

"No!" She swiftly protested against doing any harm on the blond woman. Unlike Kagome's predicament when she first traveled through the Bone-Eater's Well, was tied up and almost killed by Inuyasha because no one knew her, she wanted this woman to have a different experience. She had to gain her trust.

The blond looked between the strangers, noticing some of differences such as the man dressed in red had doggy ears on his head or the little boy had a bushy tail. But the dark haired girl with a school uniform appeared trustworthy as blue eyes gently gazed at her. It was like she sympathized with her. Deciding to believe in her words, she thawed the ice between them. After all they did save her life. "My name is Lucy. Can you tell me where I am?"

Kagome nodded her head, proud of the fact she made progress with learning something about the golden haired woman. "It's nice to meet you, Lucy. You are in place called Edo."

The blond beamed before her head fell to the ground. The weariness from a long day caught up with her. Her eyes closed to greet the darkness.


	4. Seeking Help

**I know it's been two years since my last update. And seriously, I was going to discontinue this story but I still have some ideas where I want to go. So I'm going to give writing a chance and see the direction the muse takes me. Sorry beforehand about bad grammar and spelling, especially with the characters' names. Enjoy.**

* * *

The Magic Council Elite Squad members had found a saddened blunette girl sitting on her knees. A crumpled paper was lying a few inches from her. She looked lost and alone.

One of the members, a raven head walked toward her and hefted her petite form with ease. He noticed that past the six months she had lost weight. Her blue hair had grown longer passing her shoulders. Her eyes were darker, especially under them. He wondered if she was getting enough sleep.

Not once did she glance at him as he gently picked her up bridal style and carried her out. He refused to handcuff her and growled at the other members who approached them with the intention to bind the girl.

Levy was a strong mage in her own right but facing the Elite members alone, she didn't stand a fighting chance. Besides, Gajeel would've subdued her before the others could seriously injure her. As for his mission, he and the other Elites were simply to capture and detain the girl. She was being held in question for betraying the Magic Council.

Originally, Gajeel worried that if Levy discovered he worked for the Magic Council the past six months she would be pissed at him. But seeing her unfocused disturbed him. Levy couldn't be the one to betray the Magic Council. She didn't have a bone in her body to turn her back on her friends. He knew that first hand from his dark dealings with her during the Phantom incident.

"Did you get the note?" Gajeel asked the spiky blond man who appeared next to him.

"Yeah, and I left them a fake one," his partner replied.

"Good, we can't have them making accusations without enough evidence." Just because Gajeel was abiding by the orders given to him by the higher ups didn't mean he was going to blindly follow them. If anyone wanted to frame Levy for wrong doings, Gajeel was going to find the bastard and beat the shit out of him.

"I can't help but be curious. Why is the Magic Council after her?"

"They said she leaked private information to an outside source," the iron dragon slayer growled back.

"Well, I heard that a curvaceous blond girl visited her a couple days ago and she's the famous celestial mage from Fairy Tail." Gajeel knew who his friend, Akira, was speaking about. The iron dragon slayer made sure to keep tabs on the script mage as much as possible.

"I wouldn't consider bunny girl an outsider."

"Oh right," the man's fisted hand hit against his other open hand. "She was a part of your magical guild." And then his friend gave him an inquisitive look. "Bunny girl?"

"She was there before me and the name sort of stuck when she dressed in her bunny costume," he growled, feeling irritated but Akira was accustomed to his mood swings. The blond had been his assigned partner when he first joined the Magic Council Elite Squad. And being a member meant that he was tasked with completing missions the Wizard Saints couldn't get to.

"Boy, I would love to meet her."

"Good luck trying to get past her teammates."

Akira blinked at him. "Were they really that bad?"

"Bunny girl had a way to inspire loyalty around her. She reminds me of…" He didn't have to complete his sentence. Gajeel knew his friend understood his train of thought.

"If we're taking your girlfriend in, we better do it the right way," Akira warned, his mood turning serious. Once Levy was in the council's hands, who knew what she was going to endure. He didn't want to hand her to them, but he and Akira were playing double agents. In order for the council not to be on to them, they had to play by the rules.

He growled unappreciatively at the sight of a magical van pulling in front of Levy's building. Bystanders gathered from all over to see the commotion. He tried his best not to give them a dark look as Levy was dragged out of his arms by another Elite member. Again, she didn't look at him or the others as she easily complied to their wishes. Moving on her own, she stepped into the van, the doors closing behind her.

"Good job," a higher up commanded the whole Elite team. They all raised their fist in the air and then scattered when the van pulled away. Gajeel and Akira went their own separate way.

As they moved through a lively street, Gajeel overheard his next friend's words. "Now we wait until for further instructions."

* * *

Lucy blinked her eyes at the weird looking people. The moment she woke up to a little fox with humanoid body hovering over her, Lucy couldn't help but scream at him. Now, she felt remorse. The little fox was nothing more than a child. He might be different in appearance, but he was still a child and he was hiding behind a tall girl with a frightened expression.

"I'm sorry about him," the dark-haired girl said in between her uncomfortable laughter. "He's very curious about you."

A tall silver-haired man dressed in red hopped down from a tree branch to land next to the pair. He had a scary look on his face, which made Lucy stumble back.

"Inuyasha," the dark-haired girl warned him. "You promised to behave."

He bristled and then sat on the ground, removing something at his side and placing it next to him. He crossed his arms over his chest. There was a childish pout on his face. Lucy would have laughed but she noticed he removed the sheathed sword to put it within reach as he sat down.

"Oh, she's awake," another masculine tone said from next to her. Whipping her head to the side, she saw a male wearing long purple robes. There was a female standing beside him wearing a black traditional kimono.

"You don't happen to remember what happened before you blacked out," the first female asked her. The celestial mage turned her attention to her but she kept the others within her peripheral vision.

What could she remember?

There was a well, a piece of the stone of light, a monster and then seeing the very same people standing in front of her.

"You're Kagome," the blond pointed out.

A full smile blossomed on the priestess' face. Encouraged, Lucy continued. "You're Inuyasha, Shippo, Miroku, Sango." She stopped and frowned. Wasn't there an over grown cat with them? She heard a little mewl, and turning her head to the sound, she saw such a cute cat. If the others weren't around, she would've hugged the animal to her.

"That's Kirara. She can transform into a bigger version." That explained why the creature appeared smaller and cuter.

"Oh, thanks."

The girl wearing a school uniform smiled before she went to her bag. The small child followed closely after her. Lucy promised to apologize to the him later.

"How about we have some breakfast?" the other beautiful woman asked her.

"Sure," the blond answered. Everyone gathered by the fire while Kagome made breakfast. By the time Lucy ate her fill, Kagome passed her a bundle of clothes. "I thought you will like to change into a clean set of clothes."

Not one to decline such an offer, the celestial mage gratefully took the clothes. "But we better find a safe place to change. There are some are perverts around." Kagome's eyes motioned to a particular male dressed in a long purple robe.

"I see, thanks for the warning."

"We girls have to look out for each other." Kagome, the beautiful warrior named Sango and her walked away from the males. Upon finding a secluded area, both females turned their backs to Lucy, giving her privacy. Quickly, she shed her dirty clothes to put on a blue t-shirt that fit too snuggly on her skin due to her busty chest and sweatpants that could barely fit on her hips. She cleared her throat to let the others know she finished.

"They might be a little tight," the priestess observed.

"Perhaps when you return home, you can bring back clothes to fit her," the other dark-haired girl suggested.

"Good one!" the other girl exclaimed.

"You don't have to. I can get clothes from one of my celestial spirits," Lucy instantly said. The group were kind to make her feel like one of them. She didn't want to inconvenience them anymore.

"Celestial spirits?" the female warrior questioned.

"How can I explain. You see I have magic that allows me to summon spirits from the celestial world. I just need my keys so I can unlock their gates." She patted her hips in search of her keys and slightly shook her head when she realized she didn't have them on her. She reached for her tattered jeans, checking the pockets to come across nothing. Her eyes widened.

"Is something wrong, Lucy?" Kagome asked her with uncertainty.

"My keys, I don't have them. Did you by any chance see any gold or silver keys on the ground?"

Both girls shook their head.

Her shoulders slumped as she bowed her head. Without her keys, she was helpless.

"Maybe Inuyasha and the others saw them," Kagome pointed out, causing Lucy to look up at her. The blond couldn't help react to her positivism. A small spread across her face.

"Right."

All three girls made their way back to the campsite to see that everything was packed. "So what are we going to do?" Lucy questioned them. It was the priestess who answered her question.

"We are looking for the shikon shards." Hearing the word "shikon" from the priestess made the celestial mage halt.

"Oy, we gotta go!" Inuyasha yelled, capturing their attention. Lucy began to trek with them. She stayed by the priestess' side while the monk, the warrior, and the cat traveled behind them. Inuyasha led the way with Shippo on his shoulder.

"The shikon shards?"

The girl started to laugh while she scratched her head awkwardly. "Uhh… when I first met Inuyasha, there was a demoness after me because she wanted the shikon-no-tama. Actually, the same one we faced yesterday was the same one who almost got the shikon jewel."

"Oh."

"Inuyasha saved me but then the story gets complicated because he desires the shikon jewel too."

"Really?" Lucy's lifted her eyebrows.

"Yeah."

"Oy, what's your problem?" He glanced over his shoulder at the slightly amused priestess. "You're the one who shattered the jewel to tiny little pieces and now because of you we have to search for all the pieces."

"It's your fault from the beginning!" The amusement faded from Kagome's face.

"Here we go again," Lucy heard the monk muttered.

Inuyasha pivoted on his feet and glared at her. Shippo took his cue to jump off the male's shoulder. Kagome returned Inuyasha's glare without flinching. A new-found respect for the priestess blossomed in the blond.

"You had terrible aim!"

"You made me drop the shikon jewel!"

"That's because you didn't know how to fight!"

Feeling fumed, Kagome said one word. "Sit!"

As if gravity itself pulled the silver-haired male down into the earth, Lucy couldn't believe what she saw before her. She heard growling and grumbling and again the priestess said the word.

"All she needs to do is say 'sit' and that's what happens to him," Sango said to her.

"Really?"

"Yes, the beads he wears around his neck is spelled to a simple word."

Lucy didn't want to know how Inuyasha ended with a chain of black beads across his neck. He didn't seem like the one to wear fancy jewelry.

"And most of the time when he gets the word put on him, he deserves it," Sango added. The monk nodded his head in agreement.

Kagome turned her back to a grumbling Inuyasha and a smile returned on her lips. It seemed like the priestess can change her mood swings as fast as someone changes clothes. "After the shikon jewel broke into little pieces, we spent our time gathering ones from demons."

"We use to have more," the monk continued. "But the evil Naruku got his hands on the rest of them."

"Naruku?"

"He's malicious. He's the one who's been after the shikon jewel for a long time. Anyone who obtains the jewel will get their heart's desire. For demons, they desire power. And for you, there's seems to be something more," Kagome said as she walked toward the celestial mage. Gently, she grabbed her right hand and spread her uncurled fingers. What Lucy saw caused her mouth to drop. None of the others looked astonished what Kagome showed her. Beneath the skin of her hand, there was a light.

"What the heck?" Lucy began to panic, pulling at her hand from the other girl's grasp.

"That's a shard of the shikon jewel, which happened to be embedded in your skin. It healed your wounds. Didn't you notice that you weren't in pain or that you didn't wake with any injuries?"

The pain had slipped her mind. Once she woke up, she felt fine. She was too caught up being around new people, that she didn't think properly. Talking about thinking, her eyes darted to each of them. "Uh…, changing the subject, did any of you find a key ring with gold and silver keys?"

"Why's she changing the subject?" Inuyasha asked.

"They are important to her," Sango answered. The warrior didn't add any more details, which made Lucy take an instant liking to her.

"They have nothing to do with Naruku or the shikon-no-tama."

"You need to take it easy," Kagome admonished him.

He went rigid, his lips slamming shut.

"No," the little child said. The adorable cat mewled, which Lucy took it as a no and the monk shook his head.

She deflated.

After some silence, it was Kagome who talked to her. "May I ask how you came to possess one of the shards?"

"It's quite a long story."

"We don't mind."

Lucy inhaled a deep breath before letting it go. She looked into the sky, observing how slowly the clouds drifted by them.

"Sometime today would be nice," the silver-haired male interrupted the silence.

"Inuyasha, that's not wise," Miroku tried to advise his friend.

Lucy sighed and then proceeded to tell them everything that happened to her before coming into their world. By the time she was done telling them her tale, each of them looked lost in their thoughts.

"So you're from a different world, Fiore to be exact?" the monk questioned her.

The blond nodded her head.

"And the shikon shard was located in your home?"

Again, the blond nodded her head.

"I won't be surprised that you'll need the shikon jewel to defeat evil. The jewel is powerful enough to grant power," the priestess said.

"But none of you are saying the right thing. The jewel grants power to demons and to others, it doesn't do anything for humans," Inuyasha reminded everyone.

"This jewel is different. It's said to have holy powers that came from a celestial spirit named Lyrah. This holy power can defeat Zeref," Lucy replied.

"Zeref?" asked Inuyasha.

"He's the malevolent one from my home."

"Well, sorry." The silver-head crossed his arms over his chest. "We can't help you. We're too busy trying to find all the shards before that bastard Naruku gets his dirty hands on it."

The blond opened her hand and examined the shard that was shining under her healed skin. Then she faced the palm toward him. "Good luck trying to get this out."

"Oy, I'll take it out." Inuyasha's reached for his sword.

"No, Inuyasha," the priestess warned him. The silver-haired male bristled at the tone of her voice.

"We should all give this good thought," the monk said out of nowhere. "If you appear here with a shikon shard then the jewel is also connected to your world."

"You are like Kagome," the female warrior included. "Because she too appeared here with the jewel."

"Really?" Lucy looked toward the priestess. She did notice that the dark-haired girl lugged around a yellow backpack and she dressed differently from her friends.

But if both girls were alike -both originated in a different world- then Lucy wasn't alone with searching for a way to return.

"Yes," Kagome answered, "And if you're here like me and our worlds are connected then this jewel plays a bigger role in something that is far from our understanding."

"Is there anyone we can consult with?" the monk asked. "Anyone who knows the origins of the shikon-no-tama?"

"We already checked my villiage," Sango answered part of his question.

"And I filled in what I know about the jewel from my world," the blond responded. There was a slight pause. "If only I had my keys."

"For what?" Inuyasha growled.

"One of my spirits would have gladly answered the question. His knowledge comes from the celestial world."

"That's amazing," Kagome remarked. "I will like to meet your spirits."

"Spirits?" the males questioned in unison.

"That's another long story," the celestial mage added in. "I don't know if you have enough time to listen to that one."

"Wait!" the little child exclaimed. There was a big grin on his face. "I know someone we can ask."

"Who?" Everyone asked at the same time.

His grin turned wider as he looked toward the male dressed in red. "How about your brother?"

"Not that arrogant asshole!" Inuyasha denied. "What the hell does he know about the shikon jewel?" He waited for the others to agree with him but was shocked when everybody was staring at each other quietly.

"See? What can I tell you?" The little fox sounded proud of himself.

"Yes, you made a good point," the priestess beamed at the youngest member of their group. "Just for that I'll bring you back some extra candies and crayons."

The boy cheered while running to hug the dark-haired girl.

"No!" Inuyasha vehemently protested. "That jerk won't listen to reason!"

"The only person who won't listen to reason is you," Sango remarked.

"Inuyasha," the priestess said with a firm voice, catching the now wary male's attention. "We are going to see Lord Sesshomaru and that is final."

Inuyasha instantly deflated and he walked away, leaving the others to follow his lead.

* * *

Being in the other world without her keys made Lucy feel vulnerable. And she was beginning to learn, Edo was not safe. She learned from short discussions with each party member that demons existed and that each of them were equipped to fight them.

"So you're a priest?" Lucy asked the monk. She made sure to keep her distance from his roaming hand and was grateful to Sango who traveled in between them.

"Yes," he answered.

"And you're a priestess or miko?" She craned her neck over her shoulder to the dark-haired girl walking behind them.

"Yes," the young teenager also answered her.

"You're a demon warrior or exterminator." She pointed to Sango before pointing to the child kitsune and feline cat. "Both of you are demons."

Lastly, she turned her attention on the one leading the group. "Then what are you?"

Miroku began laughing before it transformed into a severe cough due to the glare the silver head sent him over his shoulder.

Even Sango and Kagome had amusement twinkling in their dark eyes. It was Kagome who answered her question, though. "Inuyasha is a part human and demon."

"He's a hybrid?" Lucy questioned.

"Well, yeah, technically speaking he's a hybrid but here we call him a hanyou."

At the reference, Lucy noticed how his triangular ears drooped down.

Sango moved a little closer to her. "In this place either you are demon or human. Being both means you are an outcast."

"Oh," the blond whispered. The reason for the silver head male's behavior or lack of it was becoming clear. As if the members of the group, excluding the one leading, read her facial expression they continued.

"He was alone for a long time until Kagome found him. Together, they began their journey to gather the shikon jewels."

"His mom?"

"Was a human."

"And his father?"

"Was a famous a demon."

Sango would say more but the hanyou interrupted them. "Stop speaking about me like I'm not here!"

"I'm sorry," Lucy apologized. "I just wanted to know a little bit more about this world."

Inuyasha paused, making everyone else stop. From the way his hands tightened to fists at his sides, Lucy gathered that he had something he wanted to express something but then his fists unclenched. He growled lowly in his chest, the sound inhuman. Then, he went back to walking again. The others followed him without uttering another word.

* * *

The night around the campfire, everyone snuggled together to keep warm. It was a particularly cool night, colder than what the members were used to. Kagome was kind to lend Lucy a blanket to drape around her shoulders. However, the celestial mage was unable to sleep like the rest of them. Despite the long road to the western lands as they called it, the blond couldn't find a single tired bone in her body to rest. Her mind was too preoccupied with what could be happening in her world. She left a single note to Levy about whereabouts and her keys -her only form of defense- was still missing.

She missed her spirits. They were her constant companions and without them, she felt so alienated.

A hand went to her mouth to stifle a sob. With her other hand, she wiped the tears from her face.

"Having a sleepless night?" a masculine tone disturbed her.

She whipped her head to the newcomer. Astonished at seeing Inuyasha, she didn't respond when he took a seat next to her.

Lucy's head moved in the direction away from him and she took the brief silence to compose herself. She was appreciative that he didn't call her out for her sudden weakness.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" she questioned him after a while. Her voice still sounded hoarse after trying to suppress her cries.

"No," he replied. "Someone has to keep an eye out for danger."

She blinked at him. "Then how are you able to upkeep your strength all day on such little sleep?"

His lips curved upward on his handsome face, now that Lucy was getting the time to observe him. He seemed to have an unnatural beauty as his silver hair gleamed in the firelight. "I'm part demon and being such takes out the weakness that you humans have for sleep."

She glowered, her respect for him dimming. "Well excuse me for being a human."

"Humans aren't all that bad. I'm part one."

"Yeah, you're only half," she retorted while rolling her eyes.

His lips blossomed into a full smile that only brought out more of his handsome facial features. If this silver-haired male was a half-demon and he was this good-looking then she could imagine him being a full-demon.

"You should try to rest. We have a long day of walking ahead of us."

The blond sighed. "That's easier said than done."

"At least try. We won't have time to lug around your limp body if you faint on us."

"I'm not going to faint," she answered, staring at him seriously. "The last time I fainted was unexpected."

He laughed, his whole form shaking from mirth. "And it will happen again as expected of humans."

"You act like you never fainted."

He stopped laughing. "You're dead right."

"Well, there's always a first time for everything."

"Yes, there's a chance that you're going to sleep."

Her gaze narrowed on him. "I didn't say that."

"I know what you said." He rose swiftly to his feet while patting at his clothes. "It was hard for Kagome the first time too."

"Excuse me." Lucy had to tilt her head far back to look at the hanyou.

"When Kagome came here, it was hard for her being here. She put up a brave face to anyone who asked her what was wrong but at night I heard and saw her sadness."

"Why are you sharing this with me?" Lucy suddenly asked him. From what she observed from the hanyou's behavior, it was unlike him to show kindness toward her, especially since he spent half the day making threats to leave her sorry ass behind if she couldn't keep up with the group.

"Because you're not alone," that was all he said before leaving her alone. Lucy shook her head. He seemed to be a walking contradiction. One minute he wanted to kill her and the next minute he was consoling her. She just didn't know what to think of him.

But his words did comfort her. The celestial mage laid flat out on the ground, wrapping the large blanket around her frame. She shifted into the most comfortable position one could get sleeping on the ground. Her eyes closed as his words played in her mind. He was right in a sense, she wasn't alone.

* * *

The next day Kagome and the others were traveling toward the western lands. However, peace was not amongst them. Every second, she could hear Inuyasha's guttural growls and see the slump in his shoulders.

"Is something wrong?" the priestess asked the hanyou.

"No," he muttered. At least he was being wise not to get her upset. She knew how he felt seeing his half-brother. When Inuyasha and her first met the taiyoukai, he tried to kill them. Ever since the encounter, Inuyasha harbored feelings of anger and hate.

But lately, the taiyoukai changed. Kagome couldn't put a finger on what changed but when he met them, he no longer lashed out at Inuyasha with harsh words. A couple of times he assisted them and even went as far as saving her life. The truth in the matter was she didn't view Sesshomaru as the enemy. However, she couldn't admit that to Inuyasha because she didn't want to hear him ranting away about her betraying him. He already had a tough life and getting him to trust her wasn't easy.

"Don't worry," Kagome tried to reassure him, "He'll listen to reason."

"No," Inuyasha shook his head. "That bastard won't think twice about killing us."

"That's why we have you," Kagome pitched in. "You'll protect us." She skipped to his side and hugged his arm. "You'll protect me," she said for only him to hear.

His cheeks heated with her admission and she laughed out loud.

"Kagome," he growled. He playfully pulled at his arm but she didn't let go. And then a smirk flickered on his lips.

The others didn't say a word as they observed the couple.

Then Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks, causing Kagome to halt. The other members of their party pulled out their weapons while the Kirara and Shippo moved to defend their newest member.

Inyuasha's hand reached for the sword at his waist. Automatically, he pulled his other arm from Kagome's grasp and pushed her behind him. Kagome watched in the direction his eyes narrowed and was instantly greeted by the person they were searching for.

The tall form gracefully moved away from the trees as the wind caused his long silver hair to sway around his beautifully masculine form. "Inuyasha and the priestess," he said stoically. He didn't refer to the others and she believed it had to with them not earning his respect.

"Lord Sesshomaru," she greeted while bowing low to him.

Inuyasha seethed in anger but he didn't recklessly attack his brother.

"To what do I owe this visit?" So he observed they came seeking him.

"We have questions and we believe you know how to help us," Kagome answered him as she raised her head to look up at him.

The charismatic taiyoukai remained quiet as his amber eyes slowly took in each of them. His stare was bold enough to see straight into their souls. Then his eyes landed on a particular person and Kagome could assume the girl of interest.

"You have a new member," he observed.

"Yes," Kagome said. "And we sought you out because she's the one who has questions."

He simply nodded his head in understanding and the priestess let out a long breath she wasn't aware of holding.

"Come," he commanded. He turned his back to them and started to walk away.

Inuyasha was about to say a stupid remark, but the dark-haired girl grabbed his arm and shook her head at him. Her blue eyes pleaded with him not to worsen the situation. Inuyasha sighed. He removed his hand on the hilt of his sword and began to follow his half-brother. The members tagged along behind him.


End file.
